Steamed Banana Black Sesame Seed Cake

There are still 4 poor bananas lying on  the table I bought 2 days ago.  The skins have developed black spots and turned dull yellow.  I was thinking very hard how I can use them better.  At first I thought of making banana bread, but I do not want to spend 2.1/2 hours making it from scratch because today I am terribly tired and lazy. So alternatively I make this simple and nice steamed banana cake.


Recipe:

Ingredients:
120g brown sugar
5 eggs (60g each with shell)
1/2 tsp salt
250g self-raising flour
400g mashed banana
1.1/2 teaspoon  bicarbonate of soda
150g melted butter or margarine
2 tablespoon roasted black sesame seeds

Method:
1)  Place brown sugar and eggs into a big mixing bowl, beat until thick and foamy,  fold in flour and salt gently with a rubber spatula until well combined.

2) Add in bicarbonate of soda, mashed banana, melted butter and  black sesame seeds, mix well.

3)  Pour batter into an 8" square ( line and grease) baking pan. Steam for 45 minutes or until cooked.

Colourful Loaf

This is another bread recipe taken from 孟老师的100道面包。I did not have the chance to take a picture of the whole loaf  as I finished  my baking quite late in the night.  Next morning I was busy preparing breakfast for my family. By the time I realized, I only have a few slices left for the shot.

Ingredients (A):
300g high protein flour.
30g castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5g instant yeast (1tsp + 1/4 tsp)
180g water

(B):
20g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp green tea powder
1/2 tsp curry powder ( I used strawberry emulco)
1/2 red yeast powder -红粷粉 (I don't use)

Method:
1) Combine ingredients (A) in a mixing bowl. Beat at slow speed until a dough is formed.

2) Add in unsalted butter continue to beat until a smooth and stretchable dough is formed.

3) Divide dough into 3 equal portions, add one type of colour to each portion. Knead well. Cover with a piece of damp cloth.  Rest for 60 minutes.

4)  Roll into spherical (ball/round) shape, rest for 15 minutes (cover with a piece of damp cloth). Shape each dough into a rectangular 30cm x 15cm, then roll into cylindrical shape (or thick noodle shape), join and make into plaits. Place it into a loaf pan.

5) Cover pan with lid and leave to proof for 60 minutes.

6) Bake at 190 degree C for 30 minutes, remove from pan once out from oven.

Taro Red Bean Layered Kuih - 芋茸红豆糕

At first browse through this recipe, I found it quite complicated. But once i have organised the required ingredients orderly, it took me less than half an hour to make this beautiful kuih (excluding the steaming time).

 I brought some for my " taiji rouli qiu"（太极柔力球）members. I got good feed back from them. 

I like the texture of the kuih. And it is not very sweet just nice for my taste bud.  It is an ideal snack for afternoon tea.

Recipe: adapted from "Old-Fashioned Kuih-Muih" - by Wong Sip Moi

Ingredients:  

Red Bean Layer  A:

90g rice flour

70g tapioca flour

150g mashed taro, i.e. peeled, steamed  and mashed, weigh to get 150g only.  (I used sweet potato)

200ml concentrated coconut milk ( i used Kara brand packet coconut milk)

150 ml water

Red Bean Layer B:

140g caster sugar

250g water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 pieces of pandan leaves (Screw Pine leaves) , knotted

Red Bean Layer C:

150g pre-cooked red bean  (divide into 2 portions,  75g each)

Pandan Layer D: (Green layer)

30g rice flour

40g tapioca flour

75 ml pandan juice (add some water blend with pandan leaves, strain and weigh to get 75ml only)

100ml concentrated coconut milk

Pandan Layer E:

70g caster sugar

100 ml pandan juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

Method:

1)  Combine ingredients A together into a big mixing bowl.

2) Bring  ingredients B to a boil, discard pandan leaves.  Pour mixture into (1), mix well, strain.  Divide into 2 equal portions, add in red beans to each portion. Leave aside.

3)  Combine ingredients D together and strain. Leave aside.

4)   Bring ingredients E to a boil.  Add mixture to (3), mix well.

5)  Line an 8" x8" square baking pan with heat proved plastic wrap.  Pour in one portion of (2), steam for 5-8 minutes. Pour in (4) steam for 5-6 minutes.  Lastly pour in the remaining  portion of (2). Steam for 20-25 minutes.

6)  Allow kuih to cool.  Cut with plastic knife.

Steamed Small Bowl Rice Cake (Wan Kuih)- 碗糕

alternatively you can steam ingredients  (A) with ingredients (B) together

Recipe:

Ingredients:

(A) 300g rice flour
~~ 1 tablespoon  wheat starch powder （澄面粉）
~~ 1200 ml water
~~ 4 tablespoon oil
~~ 1 teaspoon salt

(B) Topping:
2 dried Chinese mushrooms - soaked and cut into small cubes
40g minced meat  - diced
30g carrot - cut into small cubes.
2 tbsp preserved radish -diced (菜脯碎)
1/2 teaspoon garlic - diced

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp pepper
1.1/2 tsp oyster sauce or dark soy sauce

Garnishing:
chilli, coriander leaves, spring onions and deep fried crispy shallots

Method:
1)  Combine and mix ingredients (A) in a big bowl or container, leave aside  for 4 hours. Drained.

2) Cook  (1) over slow heat, keep stirring until the batter becomes thick, remove away from heat. Spoon the batter into a greased 10" square mould or into small ramekins.  Steam for 30 minutes and until cooked.

3) Heat up2 tbsp oil in the wok , stir-fry garlic until fragrant, add in all ingredients (B).  Fry well for few minutes, add seasoning to taste,and dish up.

4) Remove rice cake from mould, and top with (3), and garnishing, serve.

Note: 1) Let ingredients (A) to rest for 4 hours, this will give the rice cake a  bouncy ( QQ) texture.

              2) When you are steaming  ingredients  (A) and  ingredients (B) together. You need to cook the flour mixture till lightly thicken then add in your ingredients B,  mix well. Then transfer to the steaming bowls or containers.

Potato Bread 马玲薯面包

Five stars  for this super light and soft bread .  ☺

No wonder Cass (@ 揾到食) and Jane (Jane's corner) have praised  so much and highly rated this potato bread. I totally agree with them. It is soft, light, fragrant,  does not stick on your teeth. and I will definitely make this bread again and again.

Recipe: (This is my version)

Ingredients:

100g bread flour or high protein flour
50g plain flour
3g instant dry yeast (1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp)
35g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5g milk powder
50g egg
30g water
25g butter or margarine
50g potatoes, steamed and mashed

Method:
1)  Put all ingredients (except butter) into a mixing bowl, beat over slow speed for 1 minute.  Add in butter and  beat over medium speed for 8 minutes to form a pliable dough (smooth and elastic),  form into a round shape.

2) Cover with wrap or a piece of damp cloth, leave to proof till double the size ( to test whether it is well fermented, poke a hole with your finger in the cnetre, the hole should not bounce back or shrink).

3) Divide dough into 30g each small dough. Roll into round balls, arrange onto a  8" or 21 cm round greased baking pan.
  
4) Leave to proof again for  45-60 minutes.

5)  Bake in a preheated oven at 185-190 degree C for 10-15 minutes.

6) Remove from oven, glaze with beaten egg or butter while it is still hot.

Pumpkin Bread (2)

This is my 2nd attempt of making pumpkin bread. I adapted this recipe from "The Second Book of Baking for Beginners"  by Carol.  I converted from toast to make into small buns.  They are soft even after I keep them to the nex tday, they still taste good.

Maybe you like to see my older post, please click here.  If you ask me which recipe is better, I will say both are good.  Carol's dough is  slightly sticky when handling because of honey (I think so). Any way do not worry too much,  it is not a big  problem.

Recipe: (Straight method)

Ingredients:
150g pumpkin (steamed and mashed, weighed and get 150g only)
280g bread flour
1/2 teaspoon instant dried yeast
1 egg  (about 50g)
20g honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
30g unsalted butter ( cut into cubes)
30 ml milk

Topping:
some melon seeds.

Method:
1)  Combine all the ingredients except butter into a mixing bowl.  Beat  until a rough dough is formed.  Add in butter and continue to beat until a smooth and elastic dough is formed.

2)  Cover with a piece of damp cloth, leave to proof for 50-60 minutes. To test whether it is well fermented, poke a hole with your finger in the centre, the hole should not bounce back.

3) Punch out gas with your fist. Divide dough into 10 equal portions s\and roll into round balls.  Cover and  rest for 10-15 minutes.

4) Flatten dough and wrap in filling (to your liking - 30g each) and  leave to proof for 45 minutes.

5)  Brush with egg wash, and decorate with melon seeds.  Bake in preheated oven at 180 C for 12- 15 minutes.

Note: Always remember to add liquid (water /milk) gradually during the process of beating (kneading), let the flour absorb the water slowly.

Deep Fried Sesame Seed Balls- (Jian-dui) 煎堆

This is another recipe for chewy sesame seed balls. This time I am using potato instead of pumpkin. You can refer to my older post " Chewy Pumpkin Sesame Seed Balls" recipe here, if you are interested.

Recipe: yields about 24 balls

Ingredients:

~~ 75g water

~~ 60g sugar

~~ 150g cooked potato - mashed

~~130g glutinous rice flour

~~ 1/4 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

~~ 300g red bean paste

~~ Sesame seeds - for coating

Method:

1) Boil sugar and water in a saucepan till sugar dissolved, leave to cool.

2)  Mix mashed potato, glutinous rice flour, vanilla and water syrup together in a mixing bowl.

3) Beat at slow speed to form a smooth dough, scale in 15g each and red bean paste 15g each.

4)  Flatten the dough and wrap with filling, seal up and roll into round balls.

5) Spray water onto balls and roll over sesame seeds, roll the balls with your hands until each ball is properly coated with sesame seeds.

6)  Deep fry over medium heat, keep stirring occasionally for even colour. When the balls expand in size and golden brown, dish up and ready to serve.

Jingdu Spare Ribs 京都排骨

Wow! It really tastes good. The sweetness and sourness is just right, and the meat is juicy. This dish is as good as restaurant standard.  Give it a try and make sure you cook more rice on that day.


Ingredients :

1)  600 g spare ribs

2)  ½ tablespoon fermented red beandcurd  (南乳)

3)  ¼ teaspoon five spice powder   

         4)  1 tablespoon Chinese rose wine 

5)  ½ teaspoon MSG (or chicken stock) - optional

6)  ½ teaspoon Sugar 

7)  ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

8)  1 tablespoon Light soy sauce

9)   ½ tsp. Pepper,  ½ tsp. sesame oil

10)  2 level tablespoons Corn flour 

11)  1 medium size tomato

12)  2 slices of pineapple

13)  coriander leaves for decoration

14)  1 teaspoon of diced garlic

Sauce:

- 4 tablespoon Chinese vinegar (浙醋)

- 2 level tablespoon sugar

- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (急汁)

- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce

Method:

1)    Cut the spare rib into short pieces , mix well with ingredients 1 to 9 above and marinate for at least 1 hour.

2)  Mix the corn flour into the mixture in (1)  , then fry in hot oil till golden brown and cooked.  Dish and drain for the next step.

3)  Heat up 2 table spoon of oil and fry the diced garlic till fragrant. Put in the fried spare rib, mix well and add Chinese wine.  Add in the sauce mixture and quickly stir fry the spare ribs for a minute.

4)  Dish up onto a plate and garnish with slices of tomato, pineapple and coriander leaves, etc.

Healthy Beancurd Balls soup

mushroom seasoning powder

If  you are on healthy diet programme, you can consider this recipe .

Recipe:


Ingredients:
~ 1 piece of beancurd (doufu) 300 g
~ 100g minced pork
~ 1/2 tsp mushroom seasoning powder
~ 30g green bean noodle or bean vermicelli (dongfen)

green bean noodle (dongfen)

~ some vegetable
~ 6 cups of stock
~ 1 tsp salt
~ 1 tsp sugar
~ 1 tablespoon corn flour
~  pepper to taste


Method::
1) Wrap beancurd into a piece of cloth, then squeeze out the water.
2) Soak green bean noodle (dongfen) in water until soft, drain and leave aside.  Wash vegetable and leave aside.
3)  Combine beancurd and minced pork into a bowl, add in sugar, salt, mushroom seasoning powder and corn flour, mix and stir at one direction till the mixture is firmed enough to shape into balls.
4) Bring stock to boil, over medium heat, add in beancurd balls till cooked.
5)  Add in green bean noodle (dongfen) and vegetable and cook for few minutes, remove from heat. Serve.

Purple Sweet potato balls in Pumpkin cream

 

Today is 1^st of May – Labour Day. A public holiday, everyone is staying at home so I took this good opportunity to prepare this delicious dessert for our afternoon tea break.  It has been quite some time since the family sat down together and has a meaningful conversation. Especially now that two of my children have graduated and are working, it is harder to find a time. It will get worse when after marriage and when they have their own family. 

Purple balls in orange coloured cream sound and look funny for a dish but it actually looks very adorable and tantalizing. The size just right to pop one into one’s mouth, the purple balls, made from purple sweet potato, encourages you to pop one after another. The chewy QQ texture is fantastic – not only is it tasty and fresh, it does not stick to your teeth or back of your jaws. Next, the orange coloured cream, coming from none other than the humble ugly pumpkin, is a healthy dish by itself, giving you our body’s much needed antioxidant and beta-carotene.

Recipe: adapted fromTang Shui by Jamie Jong

Ingredients: 

500g pumpkin (without skin) - sliced

250g sugar

200ml concentrated coconut milk

4 -6 pandan leaves

1500ml water

100g sago

Purple Sweet potato balls:

100g  purple sweet potato - steamed till soft, peeled skin and mashed

250g glutinous rice flour

180 ml water (if it is too dry add more water to form a pliable dough)

Methods:

1. To cook purple sweet potato: Combine all ingredients, knead  into smooth dough. Roll into small balls, boil over medium heat till the balls are floating on the surface. Dish up and drain, leave to cool.

2, To cook sago: Rinse sago under running water, drain well, do not soak, then pour into a saucepan of boiling water, keep stirring over over low heat till sago is transparent ( about 10 minutes), pour into sieve and wash away starch under running water, drain well, add to method no.4 or you can add in during serving time.

3. Boil pumpkin, pandan leaves and water in a pot, boil over medium heat till pumpkin is soft, remove from heat, leave to cool.

4.  Use blender to blend till fine and smooth, pour back into the pot, add sugar and bring to boil.  Add in coconut milk, sago and precooked purple balls.

5. Serve with a beautiful dessert bowl, enjoy!