Pandan Rice Chiffon Cake

Its been a while I bake a chiffon cake. Without doubt pandan chiffon is always my favourite choice. Today I tried baking a chiffon cake with added rice flour! This trend has been around in the blogsphere for over quite sometime, but I could not catch up with it ... hahahaha as usual too much recipes but too little time. Unlike the usual chiffon cake using plain flour, this pandan rice chiffon cake really yields a fine texture and good structure cake. No colourings added too! I've pureed some pandan leaves and allowed the liquid to settle at the bottom to obtain the natural pandan extract. Nice soothing green hues!

close up look....so soft! 

Ingredient

• 5 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp fresh pandan extract
• 5 tbsp coconut milk
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 30gm rice flour
• 60gm cake flour
• pinch of salt
• 5 egg whites
• 100gm sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, pandan juice, coconut milk and oil and whisk until well combined.
2. Sift in both flour and salt and mix till well blended.
3. In another clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy.  Gradually add in sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks formed.
4. Scoop 1/3 of the meringue and mix into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the remaining meringue and gently fold till well combined.
5. Pour batter into a 21cm tube chiffon pan, bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 40-45mins until golden brown.
6. Remove pan from oven and overturn to cool down completely before unmoulding

Recipe ref : Mimibakeryhouse

Chicken Meatballs Pearl 珍珠鸡肉丸

This cute little pearl-liked meatball is so irresistible that my kids could not stop popping all them up! 

minced chicken, tofu, carrots, mushroom & ginger

Mixing the meat ingredients with seasoning till sticky and chilled for 30 mins before forming into balls. Coat evenly with soaked glutinous rice and ready for steaming. 

Though chicken minced meat (without any fats added) is used , it may seem like the meatballs will tasted bland and dry. Amazingly with the added mashed tofu, it turned out moist and tender, along with the chewy tender glutinous rice, no wonder the kids like them a lot! ^0^

Ingredient (approx 18 meatballs)

• 200gm glutinous rice
• 300gm minced chicken
• 100gm carrot, grated
• 4 fresh shitake mushroom, diced
• 50gm tofu, mashed
• 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2.5 tsp light soya sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp corn flour

Method

1. Soak glutinous rice at least 6 hours or overnight. Drain away water and place in a colander to drip dry.
2. Place minced chicken, carrot, mushroom & tofu in a mixing bowl. Add in egg, ginger and seasoning. Mix mixture thoroughly and stir in one direction till the mixture is sticky. (This will ensure that the rice ball texture is firm & springy after steaming) Stir in corn flour. Chill in fridge for 30mins.
3. Shape chicken mixture into 18 round balls. Roll evenly over glutinous rice. Place rice balls over a lightly oiled steam tray. Steam over high heat for 30 mins until the rice is soft and the meatball is cooked through.

Teochew Style Chinese Kale Fried Rice

Happy long weekend holiday! Not wanting to stay too long in the kitchen, one pot meal is my saviour! This is an awesome Teochew style fried rice which I cook it quite often. Peppery and savoury with bits of yummy Chinese roast pork in every mouth! This is rather a versatile fried rice to make. If you do not like it too peppery, just reduce the pepper amount. If you like it more dark, just add a little more dark soy sauce. Simple and comforting fried rice.....

Just 4 ingredients! Cooked rice, Chinese kale, Chinese roast pork and garlic

Cooking process even more simpler ^0^ just fry! hehehe

Ingredient

• 5 cups cooked rice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 200gm Chinese roast pork, thinly sliced
• 180gm Chinese kale, finely sliced
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hua tiao jiu
• 1 tsp white pepper
• sesame oil

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok. Add garlic and fried till fragrant.
2. Add in roast pork and fry till lightly crisp.
3. Ads in chopped kale and fry on high heat for a minute.
4. Add in rice and toss evenly to mix, maintaining high heat at all time.
5. Drizzle in dark and light soy sauce, wine, pepper and sesame.  Mix evenly. Remove from heat and serve immediately!

Chocolate Raisin Muffins

These looked like an ordinery chocolate muffin to you. But it is really a healthy snack for anytime as it does not contain refined sugar! Honey, bananas and raisins are added to sweeten this lovely chocolate muffin. No butter is added too. I've used coconut oil which is the latest healthy food craze, hopefully to boast the nutritional value of these lovely muffins.

Recently I've been using coconut oil in my cooking/baking! The dish and bakes turned out really well as the flavour is not overwhelming. Therefore I bought another bottle after finishing it! 

Ingredient

• 180gm cake flour
• 40gm cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 ripen bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup raisins

Method

1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Whisk eggs, coconut oil, honey and vanilla in another bowl.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and fold lightly.
4. Add in mashed bananas and raisins and mix till just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon batter into a lined muffin pan, bake in preheated at 180 deg cel for 15-20 mins.

Japanese Hamburg Steak II (Tomato Sauce)

Nom nom nom... another yummy version of Japanese Hamburg Steak braised in tomato sauce! The ingredients of the hamburg steak is more or less the same to the mushroom sauce version. Instead of drizzling the sauce to serve, the meat patties are browned and braised in the tomato sauce briefly to absorb the tangy and sweet tomato sauce. 

mix the meat mixture thoroughly and shaped into patties

panfry till browned on both sides before adding into tomato sauce 

Ingredient (approx. 5 patties)

• 150gm minced pork
• 150gm minced beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onions
• 30gm finely grated carrots
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 30gm fresh breadcrumbs (I used wholemeal bread)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• baby corns
• sweet peas
• carrots
• fresh eggs as needed

Tomato Gravy :

• 150ml water
• 150ml tomato juice
• 2 tbsp worchestire sauce
• dash of pepper
• 1/2 chicken stock cube
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 100gm enoki mushroom

Method

1. Combine mined meat, onions, carrots, egg, milk, breadcrumbs, salt & pepper into a mixing. Knead until mixture comes together. Cling wrap and chill in fridge for at least 30mins.
2. Remove meat mixture from fridge. Divide into 5 equal portions and shape into round patties.
3. Heat coconut oil in pan. Add in meat patties, lightly indent the centre of the patties with you thumb. Pan fried each side, about 2-3 mins, till browned. Remove patties from pan and set aside.
4. Using the same pan, add in tomato gravy ingredients (except enoki mushroom). Bring to boil and simmer for 3mins.
5. Add in meat patties and allow the gravy to coat evenly all over the patties. Simmer for 3 mins till patties are thoroughly cooked through. 
6. Add in enoki mushrooms and cook for another 1 min. Remove from fire.
7. Using a clean pan, heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Crack in eggs and cook into sunny side up. Remove from pan. With the same pan, add the mix vegetable and fry till tender. Season with salt & pepper to taste. 

Recipe source : 小本厨房

Japanese Hamburg Steak I (Mushroom Sauce)

Who don't like homemade juicy meat patties!? Homemade ones are definitely healthier as no artificial fillers or preservatives are added. This dish is always well received by my kids, especially they love drenching their servings with the Japanese inspired mushroom gravy!

Takes some effort to assemble everything up, but is all worth it! 

Japanese Hamgurg Steak

Ingredient (approx. 5 patties)

• 150gm minced pork
• 150gm minced beef
• 100gm enoki mushroom, finely chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs (blended a few slices of wholemeal bread)
• 4 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 tbsp coconut oil 
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• fresh eggs as needed

Mushroom Sauce :

• 200ml water
• 1 tsp dashi granules
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sake
• 120gm shimeiji mushroom
• 2 tbsp cornflour water

Method

1. Combine minced meat, enoki mushroom, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, milk, salt & pepper in a mixing bowl. Knead till mixture comes together. Cling wrap and chill the mixture in fridge for at least 30mins.
2. Remove minced mixture from fridge. Divide equally into 5 portions. Shape into round patties. 
3. Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in pan. Place in meat patties, lightly indent the centre of the patties with your thumb. (this allow the middle of the meat patties to cook through easily) Pan fried on each side for 5 mins until browned. Remove the cooked meat patties from the pan. Set aside. 
4. Remove excess oil from the pan. Add in water, dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin and sake. Bring to boil. Add in shimeiji mushroom and cook for 1 min. Add in cornflour water to thicken to gravy. 
5. Using a clean pan, heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Crack in eggs cook into sunny side up. 
6. Meanwhile bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add in some salt and 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Add in chopped carrots & broccoli, cook for 2-3 mins. Drain well. 
7. To assemble : Serve meat patties with steamed rice, ladle some mushroom sauce over. Top  with blanched carrots & broccoli and sunny-side up. 

Recipe source : Cookpad.com

Easy Roast Pork

I've attempted several roasted pork recipes but do not have the chance to document any of them in my blog till now!  I was attracted to this recipe 'cos of its heading 'Easy Roast Pork' hahaha...If you homemade roasted pork before, you should know that it usually splatter a lot and really makes the oven smell after the roasting process. I like this recipe as the whole roasting process (except the crackling part) is covered with a foil which reduce the splattering of oil and smell. Taste wise, the meat is moist and juicy, but the flavour can still be further improved! 

Before and after 2 hours in oven

Ingredient

• 400gm pork belly
• 1 whole garlic, slice 1/4 off the top
• 120ml rice wine
• 120ml milk
• 3 tsp sea salt & black pepper mix
• 1 tsp five spice powder

Method

1. Dab the pork belly with kitchen paper as dry as possible. Place in a dish, uncovered, chill overnight.
2. Remove pork belly from fridge. Dab the skin again with kitchen paper again. Score the skin with a sharp knife about 1 cm apart.  Rub salt & pepper mix all over the skin. Rub the five spice powder all over the bottom of the pork belly.
3. Preheat oven to 130 deg cel.
4. Place the garlic in a baking dish and pour in the milk and wine.
5. Place the pork belly, skin side facing up, on top of the garlic.
6. Cover the baking dish with a piece of foil, make sure that it does not touch the skin. Bake for 2 hours.
7. Remove foil. Increase oven heat to 240 deg cel. Using top heat only, bake for another 10-15 mins until the skin develops a nice crackling and nicely brown.
8. Rest the meat and cool completely before cutting

Recipe ref : bearnakedfood.com

Scrumptious lunch! Old cucumber soup, blanched baby choy sum with oyster sauce, pickled cucumbers, homemade boiled char siew and roast pork.

hahaha my slicing skills sucks though which almost destroy my beautiful slab of roast pork.

My boiled char siew recipe which never fails me!! 

Orange Coco Butter Cake

When my sweet little girl saw me slicing up the cake and the stripes patterns appeared, she exclaimed : "Mummy you made a tiger cake! So cool!" and she imitated to roar like a tiger at the same time....hahaha ok that means I'm successful in making this cake looks like tiger cake ^0^.

This is a simple orange coco butter cake. The black stripes is actually made with black cocoa powder instead of the usual cocoa powder! The price is rather steep too, 200gm about S$9++. You can just use normal cocoa powder like hershey brand if you can't get hold of the black version one. 

Ingredient (7" round cake)

• 250gm butter
• 170gm castor sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 200gm plain flour
• 50gm cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100ml fresh orange juice
• 2 tsp fresh orange zests
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• orange food colouring 
• 15gm black cocoa powder

Method

1. Sift flour and baking powder together, set aside.
2. Using a electric whisk, cream butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Add in eggs, one at a time, beat well after each addition. 
4. Fold in flour, alternate with orange juice. Ending with flour mixture and fold till well incorporated.
5. Divide batter into 2 portions, approx. 500gm each.
6. Add in orange zest and extract into one portion. Fold in cocoa powder into the other portion.
7. Spoon each batter alternately into a lined 7" cake pan. 
8. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 50-60 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 10mins. Unmould and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Rainbow Bundt Cake

Top view of the bundt cake...

Bottom view of the bundt cake...

Side view of the bundt cake...where is the rainbow!!?? 

tadah!!! revealing the rainbow! ^0^

My kids also excited when they saw these pretty slices! Each enjoyed a slice of rainbow right after their afternoon meal!

Rainbow Bundt Cake
Ingredient (10" bundt pan)

• 375gm cake flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 250gm butter
• 250gm fine sugar
• 250gm eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250gm greek yogurt
• food colouring : red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple

Method

1. Grease and flour the bundt pan. Set aside.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together twice. Set aside.
3. Using a electric whisk, cream butter an sugar until fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in vanilla.
5. Add in half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed till well combined.
6. Add in yogurt in 2 additions and mix well.
7. Add in balance flour mixture and mix on low speed until smooth.
8. Divide batter into the following proportions : 250gm red, 200gm orange, 150gm yellow, 120gm green, 80gm blue, 50gm purple. Balance plain batter place into a piping bag. After tinted the batter, place them into individual piping bag.
9. Pipe half of the plain batter into the prepare bundt pan. Use the back of a spoon and spread lightly to the edges.
10. Pipe the tinted batter, starting with red, pipe a ring on top of the plain batter. Continue the next colour and pipe on top of the previous colour. 
11. Lastly pipe the remaining plain batter on top of the purple ring.
12. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 50-55mins. Cool cake in pan for 10mins. Invert the cake on the wire rack, remove the mould and let it cool completely before slicing.

Recipe ref : Wendyinkk

Bake-Along's 5th Anniversary and final theme : Bundt Cake by Lena, Zoe & Joyce

30mins Meals with Alce Nero

Do you always wonder how to prepare healthier and delicious homecooked meals for your family? Fret not! Today I am sharing with you some simple and quick ideas on how to whip up yummy 3 meals .... yes breakfast, lunch and dinner for your love ones! 

Hearty Breakfast : stuffed pesto cheese portobello, sunny side up, sausages & garden salad

My kids could not get enough of these creamy and cheesy stuffed mini portebello! Love the creamy pesto with zucchini as the kids unknowingly consume more greens without fussing. ^-^

 Stuffed Pesto Cheese Mini Portobello
 Ingredient

• 200gm mini Portobello
• 1/2 cup Alce Nero Organic pesto with zucchini
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• handful of shredded cheddar cheese

 Method

1. Remove stem of portobello and gently scrap away the gills.
2. Toss the portobello evenly with olive oil and season with salt & pepper to taste.
3. Place portobello, round side down, on a lined baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 5 mins.
5. Remove from oven. Scoop pesto evenly onto portobello caps and sprinkle cheese over.
6. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 5 mins till cheese melted.

Garden salad with red dragon fruit drizzled over with simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette 

 Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette 

 Ingredient

• 2 tbsp Alce Nero Organic Balasmic Vinegar
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 6 tbsp Alce Nero Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Method

1. Combine ingredients in a small jar. Seal the jar and shake vigorously to combine. 
2. Use immediately or let it sit in fridge for a few hours for the flavours to develop.

Simple One Pot Lunch : One Pot Bacon & Tomato Pasta

Our all time favourite pasta meal! It's even wonder as it only required one pot to prepare this tomato based pasta meaning lesser pots for washing up! ^0^

One Pot Bacon & Tomato Pasta 

Ingredient

• 5 rashes streaky bacon, sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 250gm Alce Nero Organic Penne Rigate
• 450ml chicken stock
• 500gm Alce Nero Organic Chunky Tomato Puree
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• parmesan cheese, grated

 Method

1. Heat some olive oil in a deep pan and brown the bacon. Remove the bacon and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add the diced onion and saute briefly. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add stock and gently scrap the bottom of the pan to release the brown bits.
4. Add in tomato puree and bring to boil. 
5. Add in penne and stir to mix evenly with the sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 mins, or until the penne is al dente. The sauce would have thickened slightly as well from the starch that was released from the pasta was cooking. Add chilli flakes, salt & pepper to taste.
6. Turn off heat. Ladle pasta into individual serving plate, top with bacon, parsley and grated parmesan. Serve immediately.

Recipe ref : thedomesticgoddess

Quick Dinner : Sweet Balsamic Pork with Coleslaw

Besides using balsamic vinegar as salad dressing, it works well as marination too! Tangy and sweet taste which helps to cut down the oiliness feel of any meat dishes.

Sweet Balsamic Pork with Coleslaw
Ingredient

• 2 x 150gm pork shoulder steaks
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp Alce Nero organic balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp Alce Nero wild flower honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Slaw

• 250gm white cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise 
• salt to taste

Method

1. Place pork steaks between 2 plastic sheet. Bash them with a rolling pin to make them thinner.
2. Combine ketchup, vinegar, honey and garlic in a mixing bowl. Add pork and coat them well with the seasoning. Marinate for at least 10 mins. 
3. Meanwhile prepare the slaw by combining all the ingredients. Chill in fridge.
4. Heat a lightly greased griddle pan and cook the pork for about 5 mins on each side until throughly cooked.
5. Remove from heat and place the pork steaks on a serving plate. Serve with prepared coleslaw.

Thanks for the wholesome organic products by Alce Nero!