Chinese food: Lor Mai Gai and Ee foo Noodles

I am on a chinese food roll!

First i made this Lor Mai Gai

Lor mai gai is a chinese dish served during breakfast, or a mid-day snack. Often seen at restaurants serving dim sum (chinese snacks), they are made of sticky glutinous rice and topped with an array of chicken, chinese mushrooms, and chinese sausages.

If you havent come across glutinous rice before, the texture is somewhat like the sushi rice. Only much stickier. This rice is seasoned with a pantry full of chinese sauces before it is cooked. Being new in cooking, it took me a while t0 rally all these bottles of sauces. I would go to the grocery, buy one bottle, and forget what the names of the other sauces i was supposed to get. But once i got all my ducks (or bottle sauces) in line, i was good to go!

 

Next, i made this crispy ee foo noodles.

Thank goodness most of the sauces i bought for the sticky rice were once again listed in this recipe. So, i guess building up that initial chinese sauce pantry wasn’t such a waste after all.

This dish is made of crispy, deep fried noodles and ladled with a gravy of chinese mushrooms, assorted vegetables, and a type of meat (be it seafood, pork or chicken). And when i say a type of meat, i would really recommend on choosing only one type of meat. You wouldnt want to mix shrimps and chicken.

Like eating a bowl of cereal with milk, the longer the crispy noodles soaks the gravy, the softer it gets. And if you eat it on the spot, you get this gratifying crunch with each bite. I stand midway in savoring this dish. I ladle the gravy onto the plate, mix it up for a bit, then take my first bite. I get best of both crispy vs soggy world that way. 🙂

Lor mai gai (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken)
Recipe taken from My kitchen

Ingredients (makes 6 servings):
3 cup glutinous rice, rinsed and soaked 4-5 hours or overnight
300gm boned chicken thigh, sliced
3-4 shiitake mushroom, soaked and shredded
1 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced (some people use char siew)

A
1 cm ginger, minced
1-2 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp shaoxing wine (chinese cooking wine)
½ tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp corn starch

B
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 bulbs shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 tsp dark soy sauce
*1 tbsp light soy sauce
*1 tbsp oyster sauce
*½ tsp salt (or to taste)
*½ tbsp sesame oil
*½ tsp ground white pepper
*Pinch of 5-spices powder
1 cup water
Methods:

1. Marinate chicken and shiitake mushroom with ingredients A for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in wok, sauté garlic and shallot until fragrant. Stir in glutinous rice and ingredients B marked with *. Stir until rice is coated with the sauce evenly.
3. Add in water and cook until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat.
4. In each steaming bowl, place 2-3 slices of Chinese sausage follow by 2-3 pieces chicken and mushroom. Next, fill in glutinous rice until three quarter full.
5. Steam in preheated steamer for 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
6. Turn the heat off, keep the cover on for about 10 minutes before taking them out from steamer to prevent surfaces from drying out.
7. Run a spatula or knife around the bowl then invert lor mai kai onto a plate and serve warm with some chili sauce (optional).

Cantonese Fried Noodles Recipe (肉絲炒麵)
Taken from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

300g soft egg noodles
100g lean pork, shredded
4 pcs dried black mushroom
50g bean sprouts
100g yellow chives
1/2 table spoon julienned ginger

Marinade for Dried Mushrooms

1/4 tsp salt

Marinade for Bean Sprouts and Yellow Chives

1/4 tsp salt

Marinades for Lean Pork

1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp wine
1/4 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp oil

Sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp corn starch
3/4 cup water from soaking the dried mushrooms

Method:

1. Briefly blanch noodles (or according to the packet instructions) to make them al dente. Then immediately rinse the noodles under running cold water for another half minute. Loosen the rinsed noodles in a colander and air- dry it for about an hour before frying, a simple but important step for making the noodles crispy.
2. Rinse dried mushrooms thoroughly; soak them in 3/4 cup water until soft. Squeeze water in mushrooms and cut them into thin slices. Reserve the 3/4 cup water. Marinade pork, mushrooms for about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Rinse bean sprouts and yellow chives. Cut chives into sections, about 4 cm long. Put them in a colander to drain off any excess water. Right before cooking, sprinkle in salt, and mix it well with the sprouts and chives.
4. Make sure all ingredients are ready to go before frying noodles as they need to be cooked while the fried noodles are still crispy
5. Heat wok over high heat, add oil and distribute it over the centre and halfway up the sides. As the oil starts to smoke lightly, lay noodles flat in the wok. Turn to medium heat, do not move the noodles till they turned golden on the bottom side. The noodles might get stuck to the wok if they are moved before heated enough. Then flip to the other side, and add another table spoon of oil, continue to fry them till they turned crispy on the second side. Dish up noodles and lay them on a plate.
6. Heat another table spoon of oil in wok over medium heat, saute julienned ginger, dried mushrooms, followed by shredded pork. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes or till done. Toss in bean sprouts and yellow chives, turn to high heat and stir fry them for half a minute, or, just before they get wilted. Then pour in well-mixed sauce and keep stirring. As soon as the liquid boils, they are done.
7. Ladle all the cooked ingredients with the sauce on top of the crispy noodles. Serve hot with black vinegar as the dipping sauce. Enjoy.

Cook’s Notes:

1. To avoid noodles sticking to wok, it is important to make sure the wok and oil are well-heated.
2. For presentation, it is better to top the noodles with meat and sauce, but I would suggest combining them all before sending to mouth.

Chicken Breast with Mushroom Sauce

This breakfast came together because i happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge.

1. Mushrooms – check
2. Chicken Breast – check
3. Cream – check

Put everything together and we had this chicken breast with creamy mushroom sauce. And of course, the peas and carrots.

And for carbs, i dipped a baguette in an egg and milk mixture, just like how you would to a french toast.But instead of sugar, i gave it a savoury twist by adding salt into the dip.

But i guess i could have done better with that toast. Since we had leftover creamy mushroom sauce anyways. It seemed obvious.

to have mushroom crostinis!

Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Taken from My Recipes

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves $
• 2 teaspoons canola oil $
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided $
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper $
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 2 minced garlic cloves $
• 1/2 cup dry white wine $
• 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour $
• 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth $
• 2 tablespoons butter $
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

Preparation

• 1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.
• 2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Transfer chicken to a serving platter; keep warm.
• 3. Add shallots and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates. Sprinkle mushroom mixture with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove pan from heat; add butter and thyme, stirring until butter melts. Serve with chicken.

DoryFish Fries

Do not let appearance deceive you,

For although these may look like potato wedges, they are actually Doryfish fries.
Frozen Dory fish fillets are sliced into thin wedges and deep fried in hot oil.

They are just like the average fish fingers. Except they are cut thinner and longer. You get the maximum batter over fish ratio this way.

I served this with a bit of mayonnaise. Because fried food and mayonnaise are a lifelong couple. I would have gone for tartar sauce ( which  is also a mayonnaise based sauce). Too bad i didnt have on hands.

 

Taken from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) fillet dory catfish
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 cup corn flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 quart oil for frying

 

Directions

1. Lay dory fillet horizontally on cutting board. Cut thin 1/4 inch wide strips from the filet at a 45 degree angle. This is easy if your knife is sharp, and the filet is partly frozen.
2. Dust fish strips moderately with cayenne pepper, and gently tumble together to evenly coat all strips. They should look pink all over when you are through. On the Bayou, this is called a dry marinade. Place dory fish strips on a plate or pan, and set aside for a few minutes to thaw.
3. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place enough corn flour to bread your dory fish on a bowl or plate, and season with salt and black pepper.
4. Place thawed dory fish into seasoned corn flour, and tumble gently until all strips are evenly coated. Deep fry in hot oil for about 3 minutes, or until done. Fish should be golden brown, slightly crisp outside, and moist and flaky inside when done.

Orange Chicken

Today, i embrace my chinese roots in chinese cooking.

The Orange Chicken,

 

Well, truthfully, this is not exactly an authentic Chinese cuisine.  It’s more of an American fast food.

We also had this vegetables, heavily infused with garlic

Then everything goes on a plate,

 

Orange Chicken over fried rice with garlic sauteed kailan 🙂

Orange Chicken
Taken from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Orange Chicken

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 6 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoon cold water
• 8 small whole dried red chiles (optional)
• 8 thin strips orange peel
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, orange juice, grated zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne until the sugar is fully dissolved. Measure out 3/4 cup of the mixture and pour into the bag with the chicken. Refrigerate 60 minutes.
2. While the chicken is marinading, in a large saucepan, bring the remaining orange juice mixture to a boil over high heat. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water until combined and add to the sauce. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the orange peel and chiles; set aside.
3. Heat peanut oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute chicken until browned and cooked through; remove from heat and set aside. Reheat the sauce over medium heat until simmer, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and gently toss until evenly coated and heated through. Serve over rice.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

When i brought this dish out onto the dining table, i got a big “WOW” as a remark.

Clearly, this was a dish to impress. An elaborate dish which should only be attempted by a professional chef with the nimblest hands.

But, what do you know, looks can be deceiving.

1

Because i (gasp! yes me!), was able to pull it off pretty effortlessly!

My attempt at this Chicken Cordon Bleu started off with chicken breast meat that has been pre-sliced to 1/4 inch thick. You would want the meat to be somewhat thin to be able to roll the filling inside it.

I seasoned the meat with salt and ground black pepper, and laid a piece of cheese and ham over it.

I then rolled the breast meat to enclose the filling, and used some toothpicks to secure them in place.After which I dipped the rolls in a mixture of egg and milk, and dredged it in some panko flour.

I slid the rolls into hot oil and watched it sizzle. When the panko flour got that gorgeous golden tan, i flipped it and waited for the second side to get the same colour.

Once they are all golden and pretty, i tossed them into a preheated oven. Just to be safe as we don’t really fancy raw chicken.

While the chicken was baking, i also made these maple glazed carrots

Cooked with brown sugar and maple syrup, these carrots are really really sweet and caramel-ey. Adding a pinch of salt to this brought out the flavour even more. This makes eating vegetable that much easier.

Especially if they are served alongside regal looking rolls!

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Adapted from Nibbledish

• 1-11 ounce or 2-4 oz. log Fresh Goat Cheese, such as Chavrieshopping list (I used sliced cheddar cheese)
• 4 – 6 oz. Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 4 ea. Slices Serrano Ham
• 1 Tbsp. Chopped fresh parsley (I omitted this)
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 3 ea. Eggs
• 2 Tbsp. Milk
• 2 Cup Panko or Bread crumbs
• 2 Cup Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place chicken breast flat on a cutting board, using a sharp knife, about 1/3 of the way down the thick side, cut a deep pocket horizontally into the center of the meat about 3/4 of the way down (I used pre-sliced thin breast meat), being careful not to cut through to the other side. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Wash hands well.
• Season each pocket with salt and pepper
• Place a slice of ham in each pocket
• Cut the Fresh Goat Cheese Log in quarters. Wrap each cheese slice with ham. Place each wrapped quarter into each pocket that was made in the chicken breasts.
• Wrap each stuffed chicken breast and place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. (I place ham and cheese on the meat and rolled it up to enclose the filling)
• Set up a standard breading procedure using 3 shallow containers. Put flour in the first one, eggs and milk in the second, and Panko or bread crumbs in the third one.
• Beat the eggs and water together.
• Dredge each of the stuffed Chicken Breasts first in flour, then egg wash and then in the Panko or bread crumbs.
• In a large, oven-proof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Split each chicken breast in half and serve

Maple Glazed Carrots
Taken from epicurious.com

• 4 1/2 cups water
• 4 pounds carrots, peeled, cut on sharp diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick ovals (about 11 cups)
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

 

• 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar

 

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combine 4 1/2 cups water, carrots, 4 tablespoons butter, sugar, and coarse salt in heavy large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until carrots are just tender when pierced with knife, about 10 minutes. Drain. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add maple syrup and brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add carrots and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer carrots to large bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Country Fried Steaks and Homemade Fries

Instead of baking today’s breakfast menu, i fried.

I fried up country fried steaks and some homemade fries.

I used minute steaks for the erm.. steaks (duh). Minute steaks, or also known cube steaks is a pre-tenderized cut of beef. Its surface is pockmarked from all that pounding with a mallet. This cut of beef is thin and cooks quickly, which makes it perfect for this occasion.

Then we had the homemade fries, and the over-used carrots and broccoli (i so need to find alternatives for my choice of veggies).

The potatoes were first cut into shoestrings, then soaked with ice water for about an hour. They were then fried once till pale and blond, let to rest on paper towels, and re-fried again just when they were about to get served.

Together, they made a really really satisfying and filling breakfast set. They HAD to be good, for the sake of all that mess and oil splatters in my kitchen. *wipes sweat from brow*

Country fried steaks and milk gravy
Recipe taken from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients (yields 4 servings)

• 4 (4 ounce) cube steaks
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup lard
• 1 cup milk

 

Directions

1. Season meat with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper; set aside. In a shallow dish, mix flour with 1 teaspoon of the pepper. Dredge each steak in flour. Dip in beaten egg, then dredge in flour again.
2. Heat lard in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry steaks 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
3. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the dredging flour into oil. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of skillet. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook, stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons pepper; gravy should be quite peppery.

Midnight Black Sponge Cake

This cake is so dark that you would mistake it as a brownie.

Except it wasnt a brownie, it’s a sponge cake, made from the pack of black glutinous rice flour that was bought wrongly. I made a chiffon cake from that flour before. It was soft, fluffy and the flour imparted an unmistakable aromatic scent into the cake.

I wanted to do something different with the flour today. So, i decided on a sponge cake.

Just based on its color, it’s apparent that this cake is very rich in flavor. The aromatic glutinous black flour  scent literally hit me smack in the face as i pulled open the oven door.

The scent hit me one more time as i took my first bite. I could feel it working  up my nose. It was as though i were inhaling the cake instead of eating it.

Taste wise, the cake was pretty good too. With just the right amount of sugar, the sweetness of this cake was subtle, without overpowering the wonderful smell from the cake.

I would love to give this cake an A and continue to rave on about it. Unfortunately, it is the texture of this cake that fell short. The cake felt rough on my tongue. Gritty almost.I suspect it’s because of the lack of liquid in the cake batter. There wasn’t water, or milk in the recipe. There was only oil.

Oh well, i guess you cant win them all!

* Note: I won’t be providing the recipe for this as i dont think it really made the cut.

Bread Pudding with Brown Sugar Crumble

I had half a baguette that’s way past it’s prime.

It was sitting on my kitchen counter for the first couple of days, after which it was shifted into the refrigerator for fear of mold attack.

It became a refrigerator resident for another two days, in which it started to lose moisture and started to turn crisp.

I decided to make a bread pudding out of it. For what better way than to salvage a piece of old, dry bread than to drench it with milk, sugar and cream ?

 

The only problem i had was, i only had half of a baguette. Cutting it into 1″ thick, i didn’t have enough to cover the 9×13 inch pan that most bread pudding recipes are customed for. Geez, i didnt even have enough bread to cover an 8×8.

So i took out my smallest pan, a 9 x 5 and did some major mathematical computation to scale back on the recipe.

The original recipe also called for a praline topping of pecans.

I didn’t have any pecans on hands. But i knew i needed some sort of sweet topping for this since the sugar in the bread mixture was so scant.

So i flipped Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts book and proceeded with her crumble topping. I didn’t scale back on this recipe even though the recipe was for a much larger pan. I happen to like crumbles.

So with that, there we have it,

half a baguette revived, and a breakfast served.

I wish all of you a happy breakfast too!

Baked French Toast Casserole

Adapted from Paula Deen

Half a baguette (mine weighed to about 4 ounces)

2 eggs + 1 yolk

75 ml Half and Half

75 ml milk

10 gr sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash salt

Brown Sugar Crumble

Taken from Martha Stewart

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Slice baguette into 1-inch each.  Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 5-inch flat baking pan in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat with a whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make crumbles: Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and mix with a fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Spread crumble Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.

 

Muah Chee

I came across this Southern China snack as a 3rd grader.

The bell for school dismissal rang on that one fine day. And just outside the school, an old lady stood.

She had a large pan sitting on the passenger seat of her bicycle. In the pan, was this white shapeless glob covered in crushed peanuts. And she was jabbing at that glob with a pair of scissors.

It looked somewhat like this:

Except her glob was much larger.

Selling at a dollar a serve, the other kids were crowded around her. And being a greedy, curious kid who happened to have a dollar in her pocket, i went for it, not really knowing what to expect.

Like many years ago, i used a toothpick to pick up at a bite sized glob, purposefully dredging it around the crushed peanut mixture to make sure it was generously coated.

I popped it into my mouth, and worked at a deliciously chewy glob with a crunchy, sweet peanut crumbs.

Better known as Muah Chee, this steamed, sticky dough is made from glutinous flour. If i am not wrong, it is the flour from which you make mochi from.

As mentioned, the sticky dough is then  coated with a mixture of crushed peanuts and sugar.

And served with a couple of toothpicks.

The old lady of many years came back the next day. But stopped coming the day after. I bought 2 packs of muah chee 2 days in a row on the only 2 days she was selling. I bet i would have bought a third pack had she been there on the third day.

That must have said quite a bit on how much i liked this snack.

Muah Chee-Glutinous Rice Snacks With Peanuts
Taken from The Malaysian Cuisine
Ingredients

200 g Glutinous Rice Flour
300 ml Water
1 Tbsp Vegetable or Peanut Oil
A pinch of Salt
100 g Roasted Peanuts, coarsely ground
25 g Sugar

Method

Combine glutinous rice flour, water, salt, and mix until well combined. Steam the mixture on high heat for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ground peanuts and sugar.

Remove the glutinous rice mixture from the steamer and let cool briefly, about 5 minutes. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic for about 5 minutes.

Pinch or cut the dough and toss into the peanut mixture. Serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8

PS: i am also submitting this to Aspiring Bakers 12, with the theme Traditional kueh

you can check all about it HERE

Of course, not to mention my thanks to Small Small Baker for hosting the event!

Junior Brownie Swirl Cheesecake

It seems like i have savoury  posts on my blog more than ever.

Today, i return to the familiar grounds of cakes and cookie land with this Brownie Swirl Cheesecake.

This cheesecake sits on top of a brownie crust, and has chocolate swirls on it.

And if u were wondering what those squares of brownies at the bottom of the cake are, they are brownie bites.

The brownie bites were baked from the same brownie base batter. But they were baked in a separate pan. This brownie batch is then cut into 1 inch cubes and arranged at the base of the cake (on top of the brownie base) before the cheesecake mixture gets poured in.

I hope i didnt confuse you.

But read the recipe, then you will get what i mean.

Making these brownie bites is a bit more of a work.

But it also means more brownies in the cheesecake.

 

There is a crack in my cheesecake.

I am not letting it get to me.

Instead, i blitzed a few oreo cookies and made a ring around the cake to sort of divert the attention away from the crack.

The recipe called for walnuts to make that ring. But since the cake is already yellowish brown in hue,  i thought the black oreo cookies would stand out more rather than the walnuts.

Plus, i didnt have any walnuts anyways.

Junior Brownie Swirl Cheesecake

Recipe taken from Suite 101

For the brownie crust and brownie bites:

• 8 ounces bittersweet
• or semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 11/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Cheesecake:

• three 8-ounce packages
• cream cheese (use only full fat),
• at room temperature
• 11/3 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
• 2 ounces bittersweet
• or semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

How To Make A Cheesecake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan and an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the baking pan (but not the springform) with parchment or waxed paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the sides. Wrap the outside of the springform with aluminum foil, covering the bottom and extending all the way up the sides.
2. To make the brownies, melt the chocolate (page 23) with the butter and let cool. In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high until light yellow and thick, about 3 minutes. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar, then the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and blend in the flour mixture just until it disappears.
3. Spread 2 cups of the batter in the springform to make the crust and the rest in the baking pan. Bake just until set around the sides, about 10 minutes for the crust and 25 minutes for the baking pan. (The centers will be slightly soft.) Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Leave the brownie crust in the springform. Lift the brownies out of the square pan onto a plate, using the paper hanging over the sides as handles. Cover both the crust and the square of brownies with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. Cut the square of brownies with a serrated knife into 1-inch squares and set aside. Put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl several times. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, scraping down the bowl after each one. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1 cup sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Beat in the 2/3 cup of cream just until completely blended. Don’t overmix! Transfer 1 cup of the batter to a small bowl and set aside for the chocolate swirls.
5. Cover the chocolate brownie crust in the pan with small brownie bites (12 to 16), covering as much of the crust as possible. Use only one layer of brownie bites in order to leave plenty of room for the cheesecake batter. (Eat the rest of the brownies!) Gently spoon the white batter over the brownie bites.
6. Now make the chocolate swirls. Melt the chocolate (page 23) and stir into the reserved white batter until completely blended. Using a teaspoon, drop the chocolate batter on top of the white batter, pushing it down slightly as you go. Using a thin, pointed knife, cut through the batter a few times in a swirling “figure 8” design, just until chocolate swirls appear.
7. Place the cake in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1 inch up the sides of the springform. Bake until the edges are light golden brown and the top of the cake has golden and dark chocolate swirls, about 11/4 hours. Remove the cake from the water bath, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 2 hours (just walk away—don’t move it). Leave the cake in the pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely cold, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
8. To serve, release and remove the sides of the springform, leaving the cake on the bottom of the pan. Place on a cake plate. Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon cream in a 1-inch border around the top edge of the cake (this helps keep the nuts in place). Sprinkle the walnuts over the cream, pressing the nuts down gently, making a 1-inch border around the top outside edge. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice with a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated one. Cover leftover cake and refrigerate or freeze up to 1 month.
9. Makes one 9-inch cheesecake, about 3 inches high.

Read more at Suite101: Junior’s Brownie Swirl Cheesecake Recipe: Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cheesecake | Suite101.com http://donna-diegel.suite101.com/juniors-brownie-swirl-cheesecake-recipe-a76551#ixzz1b1FafxMG

 

Breaded Pork Cutlets

So i picked up half a pound of pork loins the other day.

I cut  it into half and made some pork chops with it.

I still had half a chunk of meat left. Instead of chucking it to the freezer, i decided to use it up and make these breaded pork cutlets.

Rather than working over the stove, i decided to fall back upon the oven.

Watching the video on Martha Stewart, i think i did exactly as what she did.

I “butterflied” my pork, and pounded it maniacally.

Martha also has a tip on how to make the crumbs gold so beautifully. The crumbs used here is Japanese Panko crumbs. They are really really crunchy when fried (or baked in this case). Anyhoo, the crumbs are tossed with oil and pre-baked till golden brown before they get on the pork. And thats how she got them to get to brown so evenly.

Pork aside, we also had garlic bread.

A store bought hot dog bun sliced  into sections and spread with garlic butter.

I wrapped the bun in foil and baked it for a bit in the oven to get the butter melting and the bread warmed.

A sunny side up and some vegetables,

A lil milk and some cut fruits,

Let’s eat!

Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets

Taken from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 4 boneless pork loin chops (6 to 8 ounces each)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss panko with oil. Bake, tossing once, until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, one at a time, place chops between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a small heavy pan, pound to make 1/4-inch-thick cutlets.
3. Dividing evenly, coat pork with mustard; season with salt and pepper. One at a time, dip cutlets into panko, pressing firmly to adhere.
4. Place a rack on a rimmed baking sheet; place pork on rack, and bake, without turning, until opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.

Pork Chops, Potatoes and a whole buncha stuff

I wonder what stirred the daredevil in me to pick up half a pound of pork loins on my last trip to the supermarket.

I am not usually a cook, I bake more than i should.

The things that come out of my kitchen usually revolve around cakes, cookies, pies and tarts. And i must say, pork loins are totally out of my jurisdiction.

But there is always a first time to everything,

And this is my first, working with pork loin, and ON the stove, instead of the oven.

Working with extra care,

I tossed the pork loins in flour, browned them in a skillet and then simmered them with potatotes in chicken broth. 

And you know what? It wasn’t as daunting as i thought it would.

Growing confidence as i went along, i even improvised and threw in a few carrots and broccolis as with the potatoes.

I love how they added such a bright contrast to the otherwise drab colours of yellow and brown.

And of course, nothing brings out the brightness of the sun better than eggs.

This is not the usual sunny side up. This is a coddled egg with runny, half cooked yolks.

Behind the egg is a slice of watermelon and some leftover black glutinous chiffon cake.

And there you have it, a full set of breakfast.

Have a good morning ahead!

Skillet Pork Chops with Potatoes and Onions

Taken from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 pork chops (1/2 inch thick), trimmed
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 medium onions, sliced * i omitted this as i didnt have any on hands
• 3 cubes beef bouillon * i used chicken bouillon
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

 

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Coat the pork chops with flour, and place in the skillet. Brown about 4 minutes on each side.
2. In a small bowl, mix the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle 1/2 the Parmesan cheese mixture over the pork chops. Layer chops with the potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese mixture. Top with onion slices.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve the beef bouillon cubes in hot water. Stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the layered pork chops.
4. Cover skillet, and reduce heat. Simmer 40 minutes, until vegetables are tender and pork chops have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

 

Black and White Glutinous Rice Flour

Truth be told, i had no intention to make this chiffon cake at all.

It all started when i was too lazy to head to the grocery store to buy some WHITE glutinous rice flour. And i happened to know that a friend was going to do her groceries anyway. I decided to take advantage of the situation, and asked her if she could pick it up for me.

Being a doll that she is, she came back with my glutinous rice flour.

But the black one, instead of the white.

I suppose, i could have gone to the grocery store and asked for an exchange.

But like what i said, i was too lazy to go  to the grocery store.

So i made this black glutinous rice flour chiffon cake instead.

 This chiffon cake is really popular in the Asian countries. It is soft, airy with bits of aromatic grits from the black flour.

That saved me a trip for the exchange.

But i still needed my white glutinous rice flour.

Because i wanted to make this.

This chinese dessert is known as tang yuan. They are balls of white glutinous rice dumpling boiled in a sugar syrup infused with ginger.

You can fill these dumplings as you want. But the popular ones revolve around red bean paste, ground peanut and black sesame paste.

I decided with the black sesame paste for this.

Black sesame seeds <not the afore mentioned black glutinous rice flour>, were toasted and ground, mixed with sugar and butter to form this filling.

While encasing the filling with the dumpling dough, you might want to make sure that the surface is smooth and is crack free, or they will burst open while cooking.

Hmm, black specks of  deliciously messy, ground sesame against white dough balls…

Black Glutinous Rice Flour Chiffon Cake

Taken from Ancoo Journal

4 Egg yolks
20g Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
50g Coconut cream (Kara brand)
2 tbsp Corn oil
30g Plain flour
55g Black Glutinous rice flour
1/4 tsp DA Baking powder

4 Egg whites
1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
50g Sugar

Method:
Sift plain flour, black glutinous rice flour and DA baking powder together and set aside.
Whisk egg yolks, salt and sugar together until sugar dissolved.
Mix corn oil and coconut together till combined and add to the egg yolks mixture, mix well and add flour ingredients into it and stir batter until smooth.
Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy. Gradually add in the 50g sugar and whisk till peak form.
Lower speed and slowly pour the egg yolks mixture into it. Stop machine and use a rubber spatula to fold mixture until well combined.
Pour batter into two mini moulds.
Bake at preheated oven at 160C for 25 mins and 150C for another 15 minutes.
Then switch temperature to lower grill and bake chiffon cake for another 5 minutes.
Remove chiffon cake from oven, invert mould onto table.
Allow the cake to cool completely before removing the cake from the mould.

Black Sesame Tang Yuan

Taken from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients:

8 oz. glutinous rice (sticky rice) flour
180 ml water (3/4 cup water)
1/4 cup black sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter (1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons)

Ginger Syrup (姜茶):

5 cups water (reduced to 4 cups after boiling)
1 cup sugar
4 oz. old ginger (skin peeled and then lightly pounded with the flat side of a cleaver)
1/2 teaspoon sweet osmanthus (optional)
2 screwpine leaves or pandan leaves (tie them into a knot, optional)

Method:

Lightly toast the black sesame seeds over medium fire until you smell the aroma of the black sesame seeds. Please take note that the sesame seeds will start popping when they are heated, so use your lid to cover. Don’t burn the black sesame seeds; transfer them out and let cool as soon as they smell aromatic.

Use a mini food processor to grind the black sesame seeds until they become fine. Transfer the ground black sesame into a wok, add sugar and butter and stir well to form a thick paste. If they are too dry, add more butter. Dish out and let cool in the fridge. (This will make the filling easier.)

In a big bowl, mix the glutinous rice flour with water until it forms a smooth paste and no longer sticks to your hands. Divide it equally into 16-20 balls (depends how you like the size, the bigger the size, the easier it is to do the filling). Flatten each ball in your palm, and then use a pair of chopsticks to pick up some black sesame paste and lay it in the middle of the flatten ball. Fold the edge to seal the dumpling. Lightly roll it into a ball shape using both palms, very gently and delicately. Set aside.

Prepare the ginger syrup by boiling the water. Add the ginger and screwpine/pandan leaves (optional) into the water and boil for 10-15 minutes with medium heat. Add sugar and sweet osmanthus and boil for another 5 minutes. Lower heat to simmer and reduce to about 4 cups of water. Add more sugar to taste if you like.

Heat up another pot of boiling water. Drop the dumplings into the hot boiling water. As soon as they float to the top, transfer them out and into the ginger syrup. Turn off heat and serve the black sesame dumplings in a bowl immediately.

Thin Apple Tarts

This apple tart recipe was the perfect recipe for me today.

Firstly,

It allowed me to use up my stock of apples.

Secondly,

it allowed me to use my new mandolin slicer toy.

The apples were cored and quartered and then sliced to 1/4 inch thick. I loved how precise and uniform each of my apple slices were, thanks to that toy.

and thirdly,

there is no rolling pin required for this.

A soft dough cream cheese dough is patted into a circle, before the apples go on top.

Perfect for a morning weekday rush, 

not to mention, very convenient. 

I drizzled maple syrup over these tarts. They didnt really need it as they were sweet enough as they were.

I can be such an over-achiever.

Thin Pear Tart

Note: I changed the pear to apple obviously.

Taken from Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts

Ingredients

• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 cup, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons pear brandy
• 1 Bosc or Red Bartlett pear
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Combine cream cheese and butter in a food processor. Add flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt, and process until combined. Dough will be sticky. Turn dough out onto prepared baking sheet. With lightly floured fingers, pat dough out into a flat 8-inch circle.
2. In medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar with lemon juice and brandy. Halve pear lengthwise; core; leave skin on. Cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices; transfer to lemon-juice mixture; coat well. Place slices in strainer to drain liquid. Arrange lengthwise around border of dough, overlapping slightly. Arrange remaining slices in center. Sprinkle tart with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Dust pears with cinnamon. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Crab Rangoon, Cajun Fries and Nutella Bread

Today’s breakfast:

Creamy Crab Rangoon.

The filling is made of frozen crab meat, mayonnaise, cream cheese with a dash of hot sauce. This mixture is piled into ready made wonton wrappers and baked in the oven.

Then, we had Nutella Bread:

The bread was from a hot dog bun. I made 4 slices across each bun and just spread some Nutella over 2 of the slices. Then i topped it with the remaining slices and  steamed them just a bit to soften up. 🙂

And lastly,

Oven baked Cajun Fries

Isliced a potato into wedges. Then i tossed some oil, and some cajun seasoning before i sent them to bake. These were not as crispy as when they are fried i guess, but at least we saved on the fats.

So that was breakfast for us. I hope u had a good breakfast too.

Ingredients
1 can (6 oz.) white crabmeat, drained and chopped
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons light mayonaise
½ teaspoon Sriracha
2 teaspoons finely slice chives, plus more for garnish
fresh ground pepper to taste
12 won ton wrappers

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, combine crab meat, cream cheese, mayonaise, Sriracha, chives, and pepper. Mix until well combined.
3. Place 1 won ton wrapper in each 12 mini muffin cups. The edges of the won ton wrappers will extend beyond the mini muffin tin cups and may need to be folded slightly. Fill the center of each won ton cup with crab mixture.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until edges of cups are golden brown and filling is heated through. Garnish with reserved chives.

adapted from Kraft