Bean curd, barley and gingko nuts soup

Ingredients:

1 sheet of dried bean curd (the folded variety)
1/2 can of gingko nuts(optional)
2 ozs of pearl barley
2 sheaths of pandan leaves(if available otherwise omit)
1.35 liters or 48 fl ozs water
4 ozs rock sugar or granulated sugar(adjust to your own taste)
1 egg or egg white only

Method:

Soak dried bean curd sheet in cold water for a while. It should be very soft and if the sheet is not soft, add a pinch(yes, a very tiny pinch of bicarbonate of soda to the cold water) and leave it to soften the bean curd. Drain.

Rinse pearl barley and put in pressure cooker together with bean curd sheet and 1 liter of water. Bring the pressure to high, lower the heat and pressurised for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave until pressure is done before opening lid.( If not using the pressure cooker, cook the barley and bean curd sheet with all the water, uncovered until high boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until barley is soft.)

Bring back soup to the boil, add the rest of the water, gingko nuts and sugar. When sugar dissolves, turn off heat as soon as the soup comes to high boil. Stir in the egg/egg white and keep stirring until it is cooked.

Fried oyster

Ingredients:

8 – 10 large fresh oysters or 1/2 lb frozen oysters

2 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tbsp rice flour

8 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 whole eggs, beaten

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp chinese wine

Ground white pepper

Sprigs of cilantro and chopped spring onions for garnishing

Method:

Wash the oysters and drain well.

Mix both tapioca starch and rice flour together with the water to ake a very thin batter.

Heat a large heavy frying pan until very hot and add oil.

Pour in the batter and cook for about 15 seconds until batter is half set before adding in the eggs.

When the eggs are almost set , make a hole in the center by pushing the egg and batter mixture to the side of the pan.

Pour in a little more oil and fry the garlic for a few seconds.

Mix, then season with soya sauce, chinese wine and pepper.

Add oysters and cook just long enough to heat through.

Garnish and serve immediately accompanied by Chili Sambal.

Chili Sambal

10 bird’s eye chilies, chopped

20 red chillies, chopped

10 cloves garlic

1/2 cup oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and pound or blend

5 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Pound and blend the chilies and garlic to obtain a fine paste using all the oil to keep the blades turning.

Pour blended ingredients into a large microwaveable bowl and add in tomato paste & dried prawns.

Cook on high for 5 minutes and continue to cook until the chili is fragrant.

Add in lime juice and sugar, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Allow to cool.

Claypot chicken rice

Ingredients:

2 cups rice, washed and drained
3 cups chicken stock
2 chicken drumsticks cut into pieces (bone in chicken pieces can also be used)
5 Chinese mushrooms, soaked, cut into half
1 Chinese sausage, sliced
1 ½ cm thick salted fish, sliced thinly, fried till crispy
1 tbsp black soya sauce
4 tbsp garlic oil

Marinade:

2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp of ginger juice (grated a knob of ginger and squeeze)
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp sugar
½ tbsp corn flour

Garnishing:

Spring onion chopped

Method:

1. Mix chicken, mushrooms with marinade and ginger, season for 30 minutes.

2. Put rice and chicken stock into a clay pot, cover and bring to boil lower fire and cook with low heat till holes are formed on top. (About 15 minutes)

3. Spread marinated chickens and mushrooms, Chinese sausage on top, cover and cook with low heat till rice is dry and chicken pieces are cooked (another 15 minutes). Remove from fire.

4. Sprinkle salted fish on top, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes till rice is dry and fluffy.

5. Before serving, sprinkle spring onion , black soya sauce and garlic oil, mix in to combine toppings and rice.

Cream puffs

• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
• 5 tbsps unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
• 1 oz whole milk
• 3 ozs water
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 ozs unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Spray large(12 by 18 inch) baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper, set aside.
3. Beat eggs and egg white in measuring cup, you should have 1/2 cup(discard excess). Set aside.
4. Bring butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt to boil over medium heat, stirring once or twice. When mixture reaches full boil(butter should be fully melted), immediately remove saucepan from heat and stir in flour with heatproof spatula or wooden spoon until combined and mixture clears sides of pan. Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, using smearing motion, for 3 minutes, until mixture is slightly shiny with wet -sand appearance and tiny beads of fat appear on bottom of saucepan(temperature of paste should register 175 to 180 degrees F on instant-read thermometer).
5. Immediately transfer mixture to food processor and process with feed tube open for 10 seconds to cool slightly. With machine running, gradually add eggs in steady stream. When all eggs have been added, scrape down side bowl, then process for 30 seconds until smooth, thick, sticky paste forms.(If not using immediately, transfer paste to medium bowl, cover surface flush with sheet of plastic wrap sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and store at room temperature for up to 2 hours)
6. Fold down top 3 or 4 inches of 14 or 16 inch pastry bag fitted with 1/2 inch plain tip to form a cuff. Hold bag open with one hand in cuff and fill bag with paste. Unfold cuff, lay bag on work surface, and, using hands or bench scraper, push paste into lower portion of pastry bag. Twist top of bag and pipe paste into 11/4 to 11/2 inch mounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 to 11/4 inches apart (you should be able to fit about 24 mounds on baking sheet).
7. Use back of teaspoon dipped in bowl of cold water to smooth shape and surface of piped mounds.
8. Bake 15 minutes (do not open oven door), then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown and fairly firm(puffs should not be soft and squishy), 8 to 10 minutes longer.
9. Remove baking sheet from oven. With paring knife, cut 3/4 inch slit into side of each puff to release steam, return puffs to oven, turn off oven, and prop oven door open with handle of wooden spoon. Dry puffs in turned off oven until centers are just moist(not wet) and puffs are crisp, about 45 minutes.
10. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool. (Cooled puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen in zipper lock plastic bag for up to 1 month. Before serving, crisp room temperature puffs in 300 degrees oven 5 to 8 minutes, or 8 to 10 minutes for frozen puffs)
11. Serve puffs with a scoop of ice cream preferably vanilla and napped with chocolate sauce.

Carrot cake

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans/walnuts

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans /walnuts
Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Stir in carrots.

Fold in pecans/walnuts.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting:

In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Stir in chopped pecans/walnuts.

Frost the cooled cake.

Pandan chiffon cake

150 g : cake flour
0.5 tsp : baking powder
0.25 tsp : salt
8 – : egg yolks
300 ml : coconut milk
2 tbsp : pandan juice
160 g : castor sugar
0.5 tsp : pandan essence
9 – : egg whites
1 tbsp : castor sugar
0.5 tsp : cream of tartar
Preparation Batter

Pre heat the oven to 160c/350 f(convection).

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and add the castor sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring slowly to disslove the sugar. set aside to cool.

Sieve the cake flour, baking powder and salt.

In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, coconut mixture, pandan juice and pandan essence.

Whisk lightly, then add the flour to the egg yolk mixture. Mix until the batter is smooth. Set aside.

Whisk the egg whites lightly and add in the cream of tartar and castor sugar. Continue to whisk until the mixture is stiff. Do not overheat or allow the mixture to become dry. Set aside.

Baking the cake

Gently fold half the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and blend well.

Fold in the remaining egg whites and work very lightly with a spatula. Make sure the mixture is well mixed.

Place the finished mixture in an ungreased 10 inch chiffon cake /tube mould. Level and bake in the oven until golden brown (about 45 minutes).

Remove the cake from the oven and invert the mould. Allow it to cool for 1 hour.

Do not remove the mould while the cake is still hot.

When it has cooled, use a long, fine palatte knife to loosen the sides of the cake to remove it from the tin.

Hong Kong egg tart

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 dash vanilla extract

• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 9 eggs, beaten
• 1 dash vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned evaporated milk

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork until it is in small crumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Add more butter if it is too dry, or more flour, if the dough seems greasy. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and press the balls into tart molds so that it covers the bottom, and goes up higher than the sides. Use 2 fingers to shape the edge into an A shape.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Combine the white sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain the eggs through a sieve, and whisk into the sugar mixture. Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla. Strain the filling through a sieve, and fill the tart shells.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown, and the filling is puffed up a little bit.

Three cups chicken

Ingredients:
1 medium chicken
1 portion of vegetable oil
1 portion of cooking (or white) wine
1 portion of soy sauce

Methods:
1. Heat the portion of oil in a saucepan, add in the chicken and cook for 5 min
2. Pour in the wine and soy sauce and cook on low heat for another 20 min

Sambal ikan bilis for nasi lemak

1 bombay onion
1/2 cup dried ikan bilis ( anchovies )
1 clove garlic
2 tbsps tamarind juice
4 shallots
8 dried chillies
Prawn paste ( belacan) ( Optional )
Salt and sugar to taste

Fry the ikan bilis until crisp and put aside. Grind the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, deseeded dried chillies. Slice the bombay onion into rings. Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan and fry the ground ingredients until fragrant. Add in the onion rings. Add tamatind juice, salt, sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the gravy thickens. Add in the ikan bilis and mix well. Serve with steaming hot Nasi Lemak.

Balsamic vinaigrette for salad

Ingredients
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
To make the vinaigrette, in a medium bowl whisk all the ingredients except the oil until mixed. Gradually whisk in the oil until smooth.