Wu Pao Chun Milk Bread 吴宝春金牌牛奶吐司

Time to play with my bread maker again! ^0^ Finally I try out this popular bread recipe by 吴宝春, it is indeed very soft and delicate!! The first attempt I've used the bread maker to assist me in kneading the dough and 1st proofing, thereafter I proceed the 2nd proofing and baking in my oven. The fragrant of the bread is so irresistible while baking! When is cool enough is sliced, my kids and hubby could not wait to savour it and they polished up 2/3 of the bread at one go! 

Kneading and 1st proofing in Kenwood BM250 which took 1 hr 30 mins

After 1st proofing in bread maker

I transferred out the dough, shaped and 2nd proofing in a pullman tin.

After baking

Ingredient

• 135gm cold water
• 70gm cold fresh milk
• 30gm fine sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 20gm cold unsalted butter
• 300gm bread flour
• 3/4 tsp instant yeast

Method (kneading & 1st proofing by Kenwood BM250, followed 2nd proofing and baking in pullman tin)

1. Pour ingredients into the bread maker according to the sequence listed above. Dig a hole and pour in instant yeast.
2. Select 'dough' function to start kneading process and 1st proofing.
3. After the 1.30 hour, let the dough proof in bread maker for another 20mins. Remove the dough and place onto a floured working surface. Deflate the dough with your palm. (dust your palm with some flour)
4. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll the cut dough into balls, cover and rest it for 15 mins.
5. Roll out each dough into a flat dough. Roll up like a swiss roll, cover and allow to rest for another 20 mins. Roll out the dough again and roll up like a swiss roll. Place the rolled dough into a 20cm x 10cm pullman tin. Proof in a warm area for 50mins or double in size.
6. Preheat oven to 180 deg cel. Brush some milk over the top of the dough. Bake for 40 mins or till the top is golden brown. Brush a coat of butter over the crust and turn onto a wire rack to cool down completely.

This is my 2nd attempt on WPC bread fully automated in the bread maker, using function 500gm loaf and medium tone crust. The fragrant is not as inviting compared to baking in the oven but the texture is not compromised. ^0^ 

Lamb Shepherd's Pie

To clear off the balanced Braised Lamb Leg in Red Wine from the last Christmas, I've made this lamb shepherd's pie for the kid's lunch. The kids were so delighted to see this awesome pie serve at the dining table!. I've frozen a portion of the braised lamb gravy, so its really easy to get this shepherd's pie ready in no time. Just add some chopped garlic, onion, celery and carrots into the shredded braised lamb and gravy and simmer till the vegetable are tender. Top with cheesy mashed potatoes and bake till golden brown....a delicious awesome pie  is ready for lunch! A great way to use up the leftovers braised lamb meat and gravy!

Ingredient

• 800gm russet potatoes, peeled and cut
• 50gm butter
• 30gm parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 500gm braised lamb meat, shredded
• 2 cups braised lamb gravy
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

• Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling water till fork tender. Drain away water. Add in butter and parmesan cheese and mash till smooth. Set aside.
• Heat tbsp of olive oil in pan, add in garlic, onion, celery and carrots. Saute till fragrant and soften.
• Add in shredded lamb meat and gravy. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 mins. Season to taste if desire. Remove from heat.
• In a deep casserole, ladle in lamb mixture. Spread mashed potatoes over and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
• Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 20 mins till top is golden brown.

Basic White Bread (Bread Machine)

Not the prettiest loaf I've made, but this loaf is fully made by a bread machine! Yes I've finally got a bread machine for the purpose of helping me to knead bread dough. ^0^ To familiarise with the functions of my newly bought Kenwood 250 bread machine, I started it off with a very basic white bread recipe incorporated with organic coconut oil. 

Nice golden crust with soft fine crumbs! Glad that this basic white bread turns out well.

Ingredient (makes one 750gm loaf)

• 225ml lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup organic coconut oil
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 360gm bread flour
• 2.5 tsp instant yeast

Method 

1. Put ingredients in the order above into the bread machine.
2. Select dough menu (Kenwood 250) 750gm, medium crust.

Steamed Threadfin in Herbal Broth

Once again I'm invited by MediaCorp Channel 8 Cooking Variety Show "Just Cook It" to contribute a fish recipe (1 minute video stint)! Below are the pictures I've taken at the shooting studio. This is a simple and yet nutritious  steamed fish infused with herbal broth! Threadfin is very expensive over here. I've bought this slab of fillet for about S$24! But this fish fillet really goes well with the herbal broth. The broth is not too overwhelming, which you can still taste the natural sweetness of the fish. Besides using threadfin fillet, you can try seabass, codfish or even pomfret if you like. 

 Before steaming

 After steaming

Ingredient

• 300gm Threadfin fillet 
• 150gm Chinese baby cabbage, 
• 50gm fresh black fungus, sliced thinly
• 2 dried shiitake mushroom, softened & sliced 
• 1 tbsp shredded ginger 
• coriander for garnishing

Herbal broth

• 10gm cordyceps flower 
• 5gm angelica roots 
• 1 tbsp wolfberries 
• 2 large red dates. seeds removed & sliced 
• 120ml water

Seasoning

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp Chinese wine

Method

1. Lightly season Threadfin fillet with some salt. Set aside. 
2. Rinse herb ingredients and place into a small saucepan with water. Bring to boil on medium high heat for 5 mins. Add in seasoning. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, blanch the baby cabbage in boiling water. Drain away water and squeeze out excess moisture. Arrange the blanched cabbage over a heatproof plate.
4. Layer shredded black fungus over cabbage then place the Threadfin fillet over.
5. Sprinkle softened mushroom and ginger slices over the fillet. Lastly add in herbal mixture together with the liquid.
6. Steam the dish in a preheated steamer over high heat for 8 mins until cook. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

You can watch the video over this link : 'Just Cook It' Ep 8 or https://www.facebook.com/ch8sg/?pnref=story

Matcha Pecan Brownies

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Matcha Pecan Brownies

Ingredient

• 180gm white chocolate chip
• 120gm butter
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 60gm plain flour
• 30gm light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp green tea powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method

1. Melt white chocolate and butter over low heat.
2. Mix sugar into chocolate mixture. Stir in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
3. Sift flour, green tea powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. 
4. Pour the liquid mixture into flour mixture. Fold well till well combined. Fold in pecans.
5. Pour batter into a 8" square pan. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 30mins. 
6. Cool well before slicing.

Heart Macarons with Buttercream and Cherry Conserves
Ingredient (makes approx. 15 pairs macarons)

• 50gm egg whites, room temperature
• 25gm fine sugar
• 100gm icing sugar
• 55gm ground almond
• wilton food colour paste
• buttercream
• cherry conserves

Method

1. Blend ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor till powdery. Remove and sift the mixture. 
2. Beat egg whites on high speed till foamy. Add sugar gradually and beat till glossy and stiff peak form. Beat in food colouring.
3. Fold in almond mixture in batches until well incorporated and mixture is smooth and flowy.
4. Transfer batter into piping bag and pipe on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and rest for at least 30mins until dry.
5. Baked at preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 8 mins. Reduce oven temperature to 130 deg cel and continue to bake for another 5 mins.
6. Remove from oven, cool for 5mins and peel the cookies away from parchment paper. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting. 

Tuna Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

We all love portobello mushroom cos of its thick fleshy juicy texture! I usually bake the mushroom with stuffings like minced meat and cheese. This is the first time I tried using canned tuna flakes as stuffings and it works equally well! Chopped celery and capsicum are added into the tuna flakes to give extra bites and textures. Simple and nutritious baked portobello mushroom which can be served as a quick snack or as a side dish! 

Ingredient

• 6 large Portobello mushroom 
• 2 cans tuna in olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow capsicum
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• salt & black pepper to taste
• mozzarella cheese 

Method

1. Remove stems and gills of the portobello mushroom. Place the mushroom on a large baking paper.
2. Combine tuna, celery and yellow capsicum together. Stir in mayonnaise and seasoning.
3. Scoop tuna mixture onto mushroom caps. Top with halved tomatoes. Seal the baking paper. 
4. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 10mins.
5. Remove pan from oven. Open baking paper and sprinkle some cheese over the mushroom. Return the pan into oven and grill for 8 mins till cheese is lightly brown. Serve warm.

Cute Chickies Glutinous Rice Balls

Today marks the last day of Lunar New Year!!...Let's enjoy a bowl of super cute glutinous rice balls to celebrate this 元宵节！

Recipe ref : travellingfoodies.com

Black Sesame Paste
Ingredient

• 100gm black sesame seeds
• 100gm fine sugar
• 50gm salted cold butter

Method

1. In a clean dry pan, toasted the sesame seeds over medium low heat till fragrant.
2. Transfer the warm seeds into a food processor and blend until coarse grain. Add in sugar and continue to blend till powder form.
3. Add in butter and process into a paste.
4. Divide the black sesame paste into 8gm balls.  Place onto a lined tray. Chill or freeze till firm until use.

Dough

Ingredient

• 200gm glutinous rice flour
• 1 tsp rice flour
• 1 tbsp fine sugar
• 150ml warm water
• food colouring gel

Pandan Sugar Syrup : shredded pandan leaves, rock sugar and water

Method

1. Combine glutinous rice flour, rice flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. 
2. Pour in warm water and mix with a spatula till a rough dough is formed. Place the dough on a clean working surface and knead it till smooth and soft. Add more water if dough is too dry.
3. Tint the dough with some food colouring gel if desired. Divide dough into 12-15gm portion. Cover the dough with damp cloth to prevent drying out.
4. Flatten each dough and wrap in a portion of black sesame paste. Seal the edge tightly and place on a lined tray. 
5. To cook : Bring a pot of water to rolling boil. Turn down heat to medium and add in wrapped glutinous rice balls in batches. Stir gently and cook till the rice balls float to the surface.
6. Transfer the cook glutinous rice balls into a bowl of clean water. 
7. To serve, scoop a few glutinous rice balls into serving bowl and ladle in pandan sugar syrup.

Tuna Potato Croquette

Crispy crust with creamy and fluffy filling, this tuna potato croquette is a hit with my kids! This recipe makes lots of croquette, which I intend to freeze some of it whereby I can pack into their snack box if they crave for some croquette. ^0^

look at the cross-sectioned of the croquette....it really tasted awesome when freshly fried! 

Ingredient

• 1 kg russet potato, peeled & sliced
• 2 cans tuna chunks 
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels
• 1/8 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 egg

Coating : flour, egg & panko 

After final coating with panko, they are frozen till firm and transfer into ziplog bag.

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in chopped potato and cook for 10 mins until fork tender. Drain away water and mash the potato with a fork. Do not mash till smooth, leave some chunks for texture.
2. Drain tuna from can and place into a large mixing bowl. Flake the tuna and add in chopped onion, parsley, sweet corn kernels, egg and seasoning. Stir well to mix.
3. Add in mashed potato and mix well to combine.
4. Take a handful of the potato mixture and shape into patties. Place on a lined tray. Transfer the tray of croquettes into freezer for 30mins to firm up.
5. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Coat the croquette with flour, follow by dipping in egg then roll in panko to coat evenly. Fry the croquette in batches for 3-5 mins until evenly browned. Drain well on kitchen paper. Serve immediately. 

Note : to freeze, after coating with panko, place the croquette on a lined pan and place the pan into the freezer. Freeze till firm then transfer the frozen croquette to a ziplog bag or a freezer proof container. 

Kimchi Tuna Pie

With ample ready rolled-out frozen puffs pastry in freezer and a few cans tuna, this make a super fast and easy snack to prepare anytime of the day!! Puffy and crispy pastry top with a little spiced tuna and eggs, oooh so yummylicious!! My kids simply love this kimchi tuna pie and yes the spiciness of this kimchi tuna is not as spicy as you thought. If you like, you can add additional chopped kimchi into the tuna for extra kick. But for the kids palate, the can version tasted just right for them. :) 

Ingredient (4 servings)

• 1 frozen puff pastry
• 1 can kimchi tuna (Ayam brand)
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 4 strips yellow capsicum
• 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 small eggs
• 1 beaten egg, for glazing
• mozzarella cheese 

Method

1. Heat a pan with some olive oil. Saute onion till fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from fire and set aside.
2. Place frozen puff pastry on a lined baking tray. Slice into 4 squares. Lightly score the edge of each square, leaving a 1 cm gap. Do not cut through. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 15 mins until puff and lightly browned.
3. Remove tray from oven. Use the back of a spoon, lightly press down the middle of the puff to make a indention. 
4. Divide caramelised onion evenly over the 4 puffs. Spread kimchi tuna over together with cherry tomatoes and capsicum stripe. Crack each egg into the middle of each puff. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over. 
5. Return the tray to oven and continue to bake for 8 mins until the eggs are set to your preference. Serve immediately.

Desiccated Coconut Pandan Cookies

Coconut and pandan are best friends forever, don't you agreed!? ^0^ I only bake a small batch of this cookie so it barely filled up a small container. Of all the cookies I've baked during this Lunar New Year, this desiccated coconut pandan cookies seems to attract my younger girl the most! I like the flavour of this cookie too but the texture is not the crunchy version, is more on the softer side maybe due to the desiccated coconut added. Overall is a nice cookie to munch on.

Ingredient

• 120gm unsalted butter
• 100gm icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 100ml premium coconut milk (Ayam brand)
• 1/2 tsp pandan paste
• 100gm plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 80gm desiccated coconut
• chocolate rice for sprinkle

Method

1. Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in coconut milk and pandan paste until well combined.
3. Sift in flour and salt and mix in together with the desiccated coconut until well incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. Use a small star nozzle. Pipe the dough onto lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg for 12 mins until edge is lightly browned.
5. Cool on baking sheet for 10 mins before transferring onto wire rack to cool down completely before storing.

Assorted Cookies

Everyone busy feasting and visiting friends and relatives during this festive period. For me I did not do any cooking just busy baking cookies for friends and immediate families :D Glad that everyone love the gift pack I prepared for them and given positive feedbacks on the cookies! ^0^

Salted White Chocolate Lavender Cookies
recipe ref : Spache the Spatula
Ingredient

• 315gm plain flour
• 2 tsp corn flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200gm fine sugar
• 2 tsp culinary lavender flowers
• 200gm unsalted butter
• 1 egg + 1 yolk
• 180gm white chocolate chips
• sea salt flakes, for sprinkle

Method

1. Sift both flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, blend the sugar and lavender till fine.
3. Using a electric whisk, cream butter and lavender sugar until creamy.
4. Beat in eggs until batter is light and fluffy.
5. Fold in chocolate chips until combined. Chill the dough for 30 mins to firm it up.
6. Preheat oven to 180 deg cel. Scoop 1 tsp of the dough and drop onto lined baking sheet. Sprinkle sea salt flakes onto each cookie. Bake for 12 mins until edge is lightly browned.
7. Cool on baking sheet for 10 mins before transferring onto wire rack to cool down completely before storing. 

Cashew Peanut Cookies

Ingredient

• 125gm unsalted butter
• 120gm fine sugar
• 1 egg
• 150gm plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup roasted cashew nuts, coarsely chopped
• 120gm peanut butter chips

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add in egg and beat till combined.
3. Sift in flour, baking soda and salt and beat until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Fold in cashew nuts and peanut butter chips.
5. Scoop 1 tsp of cookie dough onto lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 12 mins. 
6. Cool on baking sheet for 10 mins before transferring onto wire rack to cool down completely before storing. 

 

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

recipe ref : Martha Stewart

Ingredient

• 250gm unsalted butter
• 90gm icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 300gm plain flour
• 125gm chopped pistachio

Method

1. Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
2. Add in flour and beat till well combined.
3. Fold in pistachio. Divide dough into 2 portions.
4. Place each dough portion onto a plastic sheet. Form the dough into an 8" log. Freeze the log for 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven at 180 deg cel. Remove one log of the dough from freezer. Cut into 1/4" thick slices and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 mins until the edges are lightly browned.
6. Cool on baking sheets for 10 mins before transferring onto wire rack to cool down completely before storing. 

The products I've used are kindly sponsored by Honest Flvrs whom is a small local enterprise dealing in local dried foods. Currently they are carrying Culinary Lavender Flowers from Australia, Baked Cashews from Vietnam and Pistachios (with/without shells) from California. Check out their online shop @ honestflvrs.com for their range of products! Readers are entitled to 10% off with total purchase of S$34, please code "pengs10%" at checkout now!