cornflake choc chip cookies

I've parted with many recipe books recently but haven't brought myself to give up on Momofuku Milk Bar just yet. The recipes aren't hard but I personally find that it packs in a lot of sugar. I can't bear to eat overly sweet things anymore so I was mostly admiring Tosi's flavour combinations. I've been reading the book for the past week eyeing the cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies. Here's my less indulgent take which I think are pretty awesome!

A few colleagues asked for the recipe and since I'm typing it up, I thought I'd post it here as well.

Over and out!

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cornflake choc chip cookies     makes 24 (using a 40ml cookie scoop)

inspired by Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi (minus the mini marshmallows and diabetes)

Original cookie recipe can be found here.

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature

38g caster sugar

38g brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 pinches salt

1 large egg, at room temperature

150g bread flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

120g dark chocolate chips

180g cornflake crunch (see below)

Cream butter and sugars until it turns a pale brown. Add vanilla, salt and egg and mix to combine.

Sift in bread flour and baking powder. Fold in until just combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips and the cornflake crunch until just combined.

Scoop out even sized balls of cookie dough and place on a lined baking tray. Chill in the fridge overnight.

Put cookie dough balls onto a lined baking tray leaving 4-5cm intervals between them. Flatten slightly with the back of a cup.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Bake for 10 minutes.

  

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cornflake crunch     makes enough for 1 batch of cookies

adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi

Original recipe can be found here.

85g cornflakes

65g unsalted butter, melted

20g milk powder

20g caster sugar

2 pinches salt

Preheat oven to 140 degrees celcius.

Put cornflakes into a mixing bowl. Crush them until they are 1/4 of their original size.

Pour the melted butter over the cornflakes. Stir to coat cornflakes evenly.

Combine the milk powder, sugar and salt. Pour over cornflakes and toss to coat.

Spread it out evenly on a lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Cool before using.

sourdough waffles

I've been trying to knock out a few things these holidays and baking sourdough bread has been one of them. I've been using Eric Kayser's The Larousse Book of Bread and instructions have been quite easy to follow. Still need a lot of practice overall but especially in shaping the dough. I use a bread machine to do the initial knead and bulk fermentation (first prove) and finish by hand. 

Kayser uses a three day feed process and to prevent the starter from amassing and wasting discard I've been finding ways on how to use it. Pancakes and waffles seem to be very popular.

These were meant to be pancakes but despite cooking them on the lowest heat possible they were quite doughy in the middle so I cooked the remaining batter in the waffle maker instead. The waffle produced was crispy and tangy.

I don't think it's quite perfect yet. To be revisited. Notes at the bottom for future reference / if you are interested.

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sourdough waffles     makes 5
adapted from completely delicious

200ml water

35g milk powder

155g flour

118g unfed sourdough starter

20ml cooking oil

1/2 tsp salt

30g brown sugar

Mix. Overnight fermentation (1605 - 1000). Use bigger bowl as batter will rise.

1 large egg

1 tsp baking powder

Add. Cook.

sweet soy spare ribs

This was one of the first dishes I ever made at home that was well received. It originates from Mark Robinson's Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook which I borrowed from the local library. I remember writing the recipe down in a notebook but have either misplaced it or threw it out by accident. Unfortunately I have never seen it at the library again so this is made based on my memory with some changes.

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sweet soy spare ribs     serves 4 as part of a shared meal
based on a recipe from Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook which I no longer have a copy of

pictured with roast potato salad

800g pork spare ribs
dash of sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, grated finely
white/black pepper, as required
1 onion, sliced thinly
coriander, optional

marinating sauce
100ml kikkoman soy sauce (light soy sauce)
100ml sake
100ml mirin
2 tsp dark soy sauce

For the sauce: Combine kikkoman, sake, mirin and dark soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid has been reduced by half. Turn off heat and stir in sesame oil. Cool.

Wash and drain pork ribs. Marinate with garlic, pepper and onion. Pour 100ml of the marinating sauce to cover. Reserve remaining sauce. Wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day turn ribs over.

Take ribs out 30 - 40 minutes prior to cooking. Line a baking tray with foil and lightly grease it with oil.

Place ribs on the baking tray and drizzle with some oil. Bake at 200C for 45 minutes underside. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes until slight charred around the edges.

Cut and serve with coriander and reserved marinating sauce.

chinese style roast chicken

I've spoken about sand ginger powder before and have finally figured out why it smells so familiar. The reason - Four Seasons spicy bake mix (四季盐烤鸡粉), a pre-mixed spice my parents sometimes use when they fry/bake chicken wings or spare ribs. 

This doesn't taste quite like it but feel free to use it as a substitute. 

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chinese style roast chicken 中式烤鸡    serves 4 - 5 as part of a meal

4 pieces chicken maryland
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
ground white/black pepper
2 ½ tsp salt
6 tsp sand ginger powder (沙姜粉)
½ tsp five spice powder (五香粉)
glug of shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)

cooking oil, as required
coriander, washed (optional)

Wash and trim excess fat off the chicken marylands. Drain.

Rub on garlic and pepper. Season with salt, sand ginger and five spice powder. Dab on shaoxing wine. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Take chicken out 30 - 40 minutes prior to cooking. Line a baking tray with foil and lightly grease it with oil.

Place chicken on the baking tray and drizzle with some oil. Bake at 200C for 1 hour and 15 minutes underside. It should be of a dark golden colour. Flip and bake for another 15 - 30 minutes until golden.

Top with coriander.

mix and melt

With the Easter break comes down time from work and study. Between swimming and sleeping, I've found some time to bake an old favourite of mine.

They're so easy, I'm considering baking some for my colleagues one day.

P.S. Garmin swim is pretty useful.

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melt and mix brownies     makes a 20 x 20cm square; 16 pieces

adapted from an old recipe

150g unsalted butter, cubed

200g caster sugar*

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

56g dutch process cocoa powder

95g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped**

Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Line a 20cm square baking tin.

Melt butter and sugar in a pot. 

Mix in eggs and vanilla when butter and sugar is warm. Sift in the cocoa, flour and baking powder and stir to combine. Add in chocolate and mix. Transfer mixture into the baking tray and move it around so it spreads evenly around the pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until skewer comes out with moist crumbs. 

Cut into 16 squares when warm and eat or leave to cool before storing in an air tight container.

*Or brown sugar - but I didn't have any.

**I used Lindt's coconut intense this time. You may also substitute with roasted nuts.

。゜:。へ( ・o・)＿

Started to trade in my extra sleep and baking time for swim time. It's great to be back in the water! Not sure when I'll be able to post some homemade food but I still get my weekly dose of cake from work :)

Until next time!

wonton or suigao?

Remember those bland wontons I made sometime last year? I think I have redeemed myself this week. Based on the notes I made after the first batch, I think these ones are just as good as my dad's. I was a bit more generous with the seasoning and remembered to add the oyster sauce this time! My dad reckons adding a bit more oyster sauce would better, but my mum and I agree that it is fine as is, since they both like to dip it in chilli and soy sauce later.

Whilst eating dinner last night, my mum said, "Look at these, they're not wontons, they're massive. More like suigao to me." This made me question which one were these. If I were to compare the wontons I've had in Malaysia, then mine would be "on steroids" because the ones in Malaysia are so tiny whereas mine has at least two bites (suigao sized). From the same Chowhound post, I found out both fillings differ according to regions in China too. The ones we make at home lean on the Cantonese version suigao minus the bamboo shoots - which is how my dad differentiates the two. Last time he also said that the wrapping is also the same, except for wontons, the excess skin is pinched together at the end to form a money bag shape.

If I were to be asked whether these are suigao or wontons? I'd still call them wontons because it's what we call it at home. But perhaps ours is a fusion...

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my dad's wantan (wonton)     serves a party
adapted from my dad's recipe passed down verbally

The wantan recipe below makes a lot, so if you re intending for a smaller meal, you can either choose to scale down or freeze the remaining meat for up to one month for future meal/s.

600g prawn meat (of the shelled and deveined kind)
600g pork / chicken mince
5 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms*
3 pieces dried wood ear fungus*
1 kg wonton wrappers

seasoning
30g (3 level Tb) potato starch
28g (2 1/2 Tb) sesame oil
15g (2 1/2 heaped tsp) sea salt
15g (3 heaped tsp) chicken stock powder
15g (1 Tb) oyster sauce
8g (1/2 Tb) shaoxing wine
3g (1 tsp) sugar
white pepper, as little/much as you like

[The day before]

Soak shiitake mushrooms and wood ear fungus in a large bowl of cold water overnight. 

[On the day]

Squeeze water out of the shiitake mushrooms and remove the stalks (add to the chicken stock if you want). Slice thinly then finely chop. Drain water from wood ear fungus, slice thinly, then finely chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Slice prawns in half, then roughly chop. Add to the mushrooms.

Add mince and seasoning to the bowl and mix until everything amalgamates. This will take anywhere from 5 - 10 minutes of solid mixing with your dominate hand**. Transfer to a container and wrap until needed.

[To serve]

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.

Wrap the wantan. Don't wrap them too early in advance because the skins will start sticking to each other.

Add wantan to the boiling water. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. When they float to the top, they are almost ready. Allow 30-60 seconds more. Scoop them out with a shallow sieve. Serve with some broth or transfer to a plate/bowl.

Serve wantan with egg noodles and blanched asian greens. Ladle in hot chicken stock. Garnish with spring onions, coriander and fried shallots. Sprinkle some white pepper on top.

*The amount of mushrooms and fungus, more or less, doesn't really matter. For reference, I used 100g shiitake and 70g wood ear (after draining).

**I find it helpful to wear a food/thin plastic glove

my favourite dish

[Long post! May be tltr.]

Lo and behold! My favourite Vietnamese dish, cơm bò lúc lắc...the one thing I order most when we eat out at local Vietnamese restaurants. I've probably tried it at a dozen of places, but only one place makes it to my liking. Over the course of a year (my second/third attempt here) with some initial Google research, I tried to recreate the flavour from the restaurant, but I never made it..! I don't know if it's a secret ingredient* or if some of my measurements are wrong, but along the way I created my own version. 

If you do follow on and read through the recipe, you will realise the wok needs to be washed so many times you may not even want to make this dish to begin with. (But that's mainly because I was cooking with two pieces of beef.) Heck, I may have even complicated a simple Vietnamese home fare but this is how we have been enjoying it at home.  

I took a "long cut" here and have chosen to cook a slab of beef, steak style instead of using diced beef cubes. Why? I find that it gives me better control of the doneness and reduces the sauce from the meat juice. I also think the wok will need to be washed as regularly since the batch size will need to be smaller (if using diced beef). My dad and I have tried cooking this with diced beef last year but we found it become too saucy to our liking. This may also be attributed to the maximum gas heat we have at home. As we prefer the beef in this dish to be on the drier side, I have opted to use a slab of beef instead. Feel free to use already diced beef if it suits you better. 

The recipe and method documented is how I currently make it at home. I'm still fine tuning it as I go, but the measurements below have passed family standards. Feel free to use it as a guide and adapt it to make it your own.

Enjoy!

P.S. From prior research, I found out this dish is called "shaking beef" in the US. "Shaking" comes from the Vietnamese translation of lúc lắc, the action of shaking the wok/frying pan to quickly cook the beef. Well, if you asked me, I think it sounds more exciting than the English translation of "stir fried diced beef cubes with tomato rice" we have in Melbourne.

P.P.S. Check out my sister's blog A Wag Away which details Bobby's (our labrador) antics. I always get a good laugh from her posts. Their instagram account is here.

P.P.P.S. The toasted coconut waffle recipe has been updated!

*With some new googling, the answer may be rice wine vinegar (?!) I'll give it a shot next time and edit this post.

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cơm bò lúc lắc (stir fried diced beef / shaking beef)     serves 6

2 pieces (about 1kg) beef skirt
1-2 (spanish) onions. cut into squares
cooking oil, as required

beef marinade
60g oyster sauce
25g fish sauce
5g sugar
a dash of sesame oil
black/white pepper, as required

stir fry sauce
20g clear honey
25g light soy sauce
15g fish sauce
dark soy sauce, as required (optional)
black pepper, as required

tomato fried rice
3 rice cups raw rice, cooked and cooled for half a day/overnight rice
3 large eggs, beaten
20g tomato paste (optional - mainly for colour)
tomato sauce / ketchup, as required (mainly for colour)
sea salt, as required
white pepper, as required
chicken stock powder, as required
cooking oil, as required

Marinade/stir fry sauce: Mix ingredients together in separate bowls. Set aside.

Beef: Trim excess fat/veins off the beef. Coat with the beef marinade, wrap and refrigerate for 30 - 60 minutes. 

(I don't know if this next bit is even necessary...but just in case...)

Fried rice: Heat a wok and add cooking oil. Swivel the wok so the oil coats the base and sides. Pour out excess oil onto a bowl for later. On medium heat, add the eggs and quickly stir it in a circular motion (like making scrambled eggs) until it sets. Allow eggs to dry a little before adding rice. Increase heat to high. Toss rice to mix with the eggs. Continue tossing and season as required. Transfer to the rice cooker to keep warm when done.

Beef (cont.): Heat a wok and add cooking oil. Swivel the wok so the oil coats the base and sides. Make sure the wok and oil is smoking at this point! Carefully add the cold beef and cook until bottom becomes brown. Be careful of oil splatter (because the marinade contains water)!! The beef will burn/char a little bit, but it is ok! Flip and cook underside until it is browned. You may need to add more oil if the wok becomes dry. 

Transfer cooked beef on a plate and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Don't worry about it cooling, because you will need to cook it again. 

If you have another piece of beef to cook, wash the wok and start again. 

Drain excess beef juice. Cut beef against the grain and then into bite sized chunks. Drain excess beef juice. If you don't mind getting your hands a little bit dirty, squeeze out excess beef juice (optional).

As the cold beef was cooked on high heat, the middle is still raw/rare. This is optimum because it can be cooked again quickly without the meat becoming tough.

Repeat with the other piece of beef.

In a smoking, oiled wok, add half (if you have time, cook a quarter batch at a time for better flavour) of the beef and onions. 

Stir fry until beef is cooked then add half of the stir fry sauce, toss, tasting as you go. Adjust seasoning and finish up by cracking in some black pepper before dishing up!

Clean the wok and repeat with the remaining beef cubes.

Do not add too much sauce in one go as I did here. Not only will it make the beef cubes salty, it will make the beef too saucy. If that happens, under season your next batch and mix in the over seasoned batch when ready. (I also forgot to add onions in this batch, oops.)

Serve in a lettuce cup with tomato fried rice, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Dig in!

char siu chicken

Baked chicken wings are delicious and there are hardly occasions where there would be leftovers. Savoury sweet and sticky, what's not to like? Back in the day my parents would occasionally use Lee Kum Kee's char siu sauce, but we haven't been buying for a while because we make our own. I can't remember the exact taste of the LKK sauce, but I wrote it tasted very similar to it in my notes.

I had an epiphany last night and thought it would be brilliant to use the sauce for chicken thigh fillet. There's no bone meaning I didn't have to get my hands dirty and I'd be able to eat sooner, since cooking time is greatly reduced. Taste wise, both are the same but the pan fried version is more saucier compared to the wings which are drier. I've left notes below, so you can decide which version you like best.

P.S. I bet you thought this was teriyaki chicken. 

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char siu chicken     serves 4

2-3 pieces of chicken thigh fillet
sea salt, as required
white pepper, as required
cooking oil, as required

char siu sauce

125g tomato sauce

60g hoisin sauce

40g clear honey

30g light soy sauce

20g mirin

10g brown sugar

1 tsp dark soy sauce (optional)

1/4 tsp five spice powder

1 clove garlic, finely grated*

a dash of sesame oil

maltose**, melted, as required (optional)

Trim excess fat off chicken thigh fillets, cut into two if necessary and make slits in the thicker part of the meat. Season with salt and white pepper. Cover and leave in the fridge until needed, but take out meat 10-20 minutes before cooking***.

For the sauce: Combine all ingredients except for the maltose in a small pot. Bring to the bowl whilst stirring. Set aside.

When chicken is golden brown on both sides, reduce heat to low. Add 60ml sauce (about 3 Tb / 1/4 cup) and top with a small teaspoon of melted maltose. Gently shake the pan and flip to cover chicken in sauce. Set aside.

Wash the pan before cooking the remaining batch.

To make baked char siu chicken wings: double the sauce and use 2 kg wings for 4 - 5 serves. Marinate wings overnight. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 30-40 minutes and increase heat to 200 degrees celcius for 15-20 minutes or until done. During baking, turn wings over at least once. When finished, brush some melted maltose on each wing .

*I used an oroshigane (Japanese grater) from Daiso to grate the garlic, but if you don't have one, the small holes on the box grater/microplane are ok too.  

**Maltose can be found in most Asian grocery stalls. It's a very sticky sugar syrup (like glucose) that looks like honey but is faintly sweet. I use it certain dishes to give it a shiny/glossy look. Don't bother trying to measure it, because it'll stick everywhere. Instead, pour a glug of it on a microwaveable bowl or small pan and clean the edge of the container with a wet spoon. Gently heat maltose until it melts. Maltose hardens upon cooling, so you may need to reheat it again.

***I like to steam fry; heat a pan with cooking oil, add chicken and a splash of water. Cover and cook on medium heat until the underside is golden. Uncover, flip and cook until underside is golden. Wash pan before cooking another batch.

cooking chinese

These holidays I have been busy practicing cooking Asian food on most week nights. If anything, measurements are thrown out the window and are done via constant taste testing and adding a bit more of this or that. Usual suspects include: oyster sauce, dark/light soy and fish sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine, salt, white pepper and sugar. As aromatics, we have: garlic, ginger, onions, shallots and spring onions. Once you get the swing of things, you'll know how much of each you will need to add. 

Cooking processes are generally the same, and I'm really glad that my parents forced trained me over the years by making getting me to help out in the kitchen (although I was more annoyed than grateful back then). Still, time and time again I still require their expertise and cooking knowledge.

Some of the dishes I made and documented during the past month include: Jason's kari ayam, pad thai, karaage, Vietnamese grilled beef and beef and mint stir fry. 

Of the two dishes I'm sharing today, both are special to me in different ways . First eaten at an Asian style cafe, the chicken mushroom steak wow'ed me during my early teens because it was different. It was western. As far as I was concerned, it wasn't stir fried meat and vege or soup noodles therefore special. The tofu dish, I can't really remember when I first ate it (here or Malaysia? hrm...) but I remember my jaws dropping when my mum fished it out of the steaming rice cooker one night. It's silly, but I thought you could only cook rice in a rice cooker...

Anyway, both make excellent dishes for dinner, served with a steaming bowl of freshly cooked rice. 

Enjoy!

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chinese style chicken mushroom steak     serves 4

sauce adapted from cookpad

2-3 pieces of chicken thigh fillet

sea salt, as required

white pepper, as required

cooking oil, as required

a large handful of string beans, topped and tailed, blanched

2 carrots, peeled and sliced, boiled until firm

1 can of corn kernels, drained

mushroom sauce

20g unsalted butter

35g plain flour

300ml asian chicken stock (or water + 1 tsp chicken stock powder)

1/2 can champignon mushrooms, drained and quartered

3 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

sea salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

sugar, to taste

Trim excess fat off chicken thigh fillets, cut into two if necessary and make slits in the thicker part of the meat. Season with salt and white pepper. Cover and leave in the fridge until needed, but take out meat 20-30 minutes before cooking*. 

Prepare the vegetables.

For the sauce: Melt butter over a low heat and when fully melted, stir in flour until smooth. Add stock, mushrooms and both soy sauces. Stir until sauce has thickened. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. (Add more soy sauce if necessary.) 

Pan fry chicken until golden brown on both sides. Serve with prepared vegetables, rice and mushroom sauce.

*I like to steam fry; heat a pan with cooking oil, add chicken and a splash of water. Cover and cook on medium heat until the underside is golden. Uncover, flip and cook until underside is golden. Wash pan before cooking another batch.

steamed tofu with prawn and chicken meatballs     serves 4-5 as part of a shared meal
inspired by parents' cooking & 3 hungry tummies

4 leaves chinese cabbage, washed, cut into squares
1 small bundle green bean vermicelli, soaked in cold water until soft and drained (optional)
3 tubes silken tofu, sliced into 8 pieces each
250g prawn meat, chopped roughly
250g chicken/pork mince
1 heaped Tb potato starch
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chicken stock powder
a dollop of oyster sauce
a dash of sesame oil
a dash of shaoxing wine
white pepper, as required

finishing sauce*
oyster sauce (1 1/2 Tb), as required
light soy sauce (1 Tb), as required
dark soy sauce (2 tsp), as required (optional)
a dash of sesame oil
water (300 ml), as required
potato starch solution**, to thicken

spring onion, sliced, as required
fried shallots, as required

Arrange cabbage on two ceramic/steel shallow bowls. Divide vermicelli between two plates and scatter around the cabbage evenly. Top with tofu.

Mix prawn and chicken with potato starch, salt, chicken stock powder, oyster sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine and white pepper until it binds and forms elasticity. Scoop heaped teaspoons of meat on top of the tofu. Steam for 10-15 minutes over high heat.

Meanwhile, combine oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil and water to form a broth. Bring to the boil. Gradually pour in the potato starch solution, stirring to thicken. When the dish is ready, ladle sauce over and serve immediately.

Garnish with sliced spring onion and fried shallots to finish.

*Bracketed amounts are estimates; please taste test.

**About 1 Tb potato starch dissolved in a bit of cold water. If the broth is not thick enough to your liking, you may add a bit more solution.

christmas 2014

Merry Christmas everyone! 

I don't usually make a cake for Christmas, but I thought I'd make one this year. Not a conventional one, but a twenty layered mille crepe* cake layered with sweetened whipped cream. 

Our oversized pup, Bobby also got a share of the festivities by gobbling down some crepes and strawberries (after doing many tricks of course).

Happy holidays and stay safe!

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*The crepes were sugar and gluten free. The recipe can be found here. I made five batches of the recipe for the cake, with a few extra pieces for other things. 

hakka pan mee

Recently at uni, I learnt that one's heritage language and culture is lost at a rate of roughly 30% through each generation. Realisation hit me a long time ago that it would be up to us - the younger generation to learn and preserve it for the future. I'm not referring to traditional Chinese proverbs but more of the food culture. Years ago, I used to lament how no one learnt how to make grandma's home cooked dishes so I made it a point to learn at least one when I went back earlier in the year. I did end up with more scribbled recipes that I would have imagined but haven't exactly replicated anything besides the chiffon cake which I learnt the year before. But I like to think the initiative is something I can use to draw back on in the future.

Making the kon lo (dry tossed) pan mee earlier today, it reminded me that there is still hope. The dish above reminded me of the time I ate out with my cousins by the roadside made by a group of youngsters complete with freshly made noodles and a queue to boot. I'm sure I'll be able to order pan mee at Malaysian restaurants, but I get a kick of learning how to make it myself. I've done it before (1 2 3) but I've been reluctant to share my notes because there are no proper measurements due to the spontaneous nature old school cooking in my house.

Since eating my mum's pan mee earlier last year, I waited until she made it again so I could document it properly. There is no proper recipe but the notes below are actually way more detailed than mine which is pretty much an ingredient list. But I think it's quite flexible if you use it as a guideline and adapt to your own tastes. Just remember to:

1. Look up a proper recipe first if you are unfamiliar with cooking this

2. Taste test continuously  

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Notes on my Mum's Hakka pan mee (客家板面)

Stock:

Place two chicken carcasses and 0.5-1 kg pork bones in a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, drain and clean the 'dirty stuff' off the carcass/bones under running cold water. Return to the stockpot with a handful of shiitake stems and fill with water. Bring to a boil. Add some fried anchovies. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer for at least 1.5 hours. Skim scum off the top occasionally. Season with salt, fish sauce (optional), a lump of rock sugar and chicken stock powder.

Fried anchovies (ikan bilis):

Wash a generous handful of dried anchovies and drain well. Deep fry in hot oil on low heat until crispy. Drain and reserve oil for later. Add 1/4 portion of the fried anchovies to the stock and drain the rest with a paper towel. Set aside for later. 

Wood ear fungus:

Soak with cold water overnight or hot water if using on the day. Trim off woody ends and cut into thick strips.

Pork mince:

Saute thinly sliced garlic cloves in reserved oil from the anchovies (flavour bomb!!). Add sliced wood ear fungus and stir fry before adding pork mince (about 100g per person). Season with white and black pepper and chicken stock powder. Finish by seasoning with soy sauce and sesame oil. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Vegetables:

Blanch and drain leafy green vegetables of your choice. We had them with bok choy this time, but it tastes great with stir fried amaranth (yin choy) as well. 

Noodles:

Cook fresh noodles (we like thick Shanghai noodles) according to packet instructions/"the pinch test". Drain and run under cold water to cool to prevent sticking. Maybe we'll try making the noodles next time...

To serve (soup version):

Arrange cooked noodles and toppings (vegetables, pork mince, fried anchovies, fried shallots, sliced spring onions) into a bowl and carefully ladle in hot stock. 

To serve (dry tossed version):

Toss cooked noodles with oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic oil (or melted lard!) and a bit of the stock. Arrange toppings (vegetables, pork mince, fried anchovies, fried shallots, sliced spring onions) into a bowl and you're good to go.

more bread!

Earlier this week, my relatives from Malaysia made a brief stop over in Melbourne and I took them to DFO (shopping outlet) after class where they shopped until they were kicked out! Instant A+ if shopping was an actual subject. In between waiting and running errands, I spent some time in a book store and picked up Bread Revolution: Rise and Bake by Duncan Glendinning and Patrick Ryan. I initially wanted it for the bagel recipe, but the more I read it in store, I liked how simple everything was explained. 

I baked two potato and rosemary loaves and was pretty happy with my first attempt! It was soft and had a slight bite to it and was exactly the same the following day despite not adding any additives to it. It had a thin crust straight from the oven but became soft when it cooled. This was my fault because I was careless and forgot to lower the temperature to suit my oven and fell asleep when it was baking (!) Thankfully, a friend messsaged me at the right time saving my bread from being burnt. Flavour wise, I'll need to put more rosemary and roasted garlic because I could barely taste it.

Whilst waiting for the bread to prove, I also made the dark and white mini muffins using salted dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Interestingly, the picture in the book was different to the recipe. I was surprised it contained no sugar because natural yogurt was used and it's quite sour. I did make a few amendments to it but l will try again with the original recipe next time. 

Edit: 03/11/14 The bread stayed soft for 3-4 days and made a great toast as well. I tried the original muffin recipe today and didn't like it. Possible misprint error??

bo lo bao

Another Asian bakery bun ticked off the list! When I was a kid I used to always wonder why they were called bo lo bao (pineapple bun) when it didn't taste or have any pineapple inside. Apparently it is named like that due to the look of the bun especially when additional carvings are made on top of the cookie crust prior baking. The usual bakery I go to don't carve their buns, so I didn't bother.

Bo lo bao reminds me of the Japanese melon bread in which a cookie crust is placed on top of the bun prior baking. Some of the issues on baking this type of bread is explained in Yakitate!! Japan during the melon challenge. I think it was on the lines of the different optimum temperatures of the bread and cookie thus the cookie will either be under baked or the bread becomes too dry. Therefore Kazuma Azuma, decides to bakes them separately and sandwiches the cookie to the crust with whipped cream prior serving. Combining the two components together later helped maintained the softness of the bun and the crispiness of the cookie. (Japan #58 has been produced in real life too.) 

Fortunately, the problem doesn't apply to the HK version, but the topping does get soft and moist the day after. But if you have leftovers, not to worry! Cut them in half, pop them into the oven until the crust crisps and enjoy with a slab of butter in the middle. 

Serve with some milk tea for a proper Hong Kong style 下午茶 (afternoon tea)!

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HK style pineapple bun (bo lo bao)  (菠萝包)     makes 10 regular or 20 mini buns

method and topping adapted from Phoebe's More Than Bread

bread

250ml milk (or 2 heaped Tb of milk powder + water)

60ml cooking oil

80g caster sugar

pinch of sea salt

1 tsp bread improver (optional)

450g bread flour

1 3/4 tsp dry yeast

topping

60g unsalted butter, softened

80g raw sugar

100g plain flour, sifted

10g custard / Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted 

1/4 tsp baking powder, sifted

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted

1/2 large egg, beaten

1/2 large egg, for the glaze

Place bread ingredients into the bread machine bowl according to manufacturer instructions. Set to 'dough function' (30 mins knead, 60 minutes prove)*. Add a tablespoon of water or two if the dough appears to be dry after a few turns.

Meanwhile, make the topping. Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined. Form a ball, wrap with cling film and refrigerate until required.

Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface after the first prove. Gently flatten dough and divide into 10 x 86g or 20 x 43g** dough pieces. Shape them into small balls and transfer to a lined baking tray. Ensure there is ample space for the bread to rise. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place until dough doubles in size***.

Roll bun topping thinly in between two sheets of cling film**** when the second prove is almost finished. Use a cookie cutter about the same size as your bun and cut out rounds.

Lightly brush bread tops with beaten egg and gently secure the cut out topping. Brush with beaten egg again.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 10 - 15 minutes or until crust is golden and crunchy. Transfer to a cooling rack immediately. 

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*Alternatively, combine all dry ingredients and form a well. Combine all wet ingredients and gradually pour into the dry ingredients to form a rough dough. Transfer onto a lightly floured surface and continue to knead until smooth. Leave in a warm place until doubled in size - this is the first prove.

**I find that the dough does not rise as well if I divide them into small pieces. I recommend making the regular sized buns (86g dough).

***For the second prove, I put them in a 28-30 degrees Celsius oven for 40 - 60 minutes. Brush with beaten egg every 20 minutes.

****Topping will crumble if it is too cold, take out 5 minutes prior using.