Overnight Herman Waffles

Above pic : combine herman starter, sugar, fresh milk, butter and flour and ferment overnight

Below pic : after resting overnight the batter bloomed 

Ingredient

• 125gm unsalted butter
• 250ml fresh milk
• 250ml herman starter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 180gm plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Method

1. Melt butter over low heat. Add in fresh milk and mix well.
2. Stir in herman starter, salt, brown sugar and plain flour till smooth.
3. Cover and rest for 8 hours or overnight. When ready to cook on the next day, add in eggs and baking soda. 
4. Cook the batter immediately according to your waffles machine. 

Chocolate Sauce : 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 4 tbsp unsalted butter, 2/3 cup fine sugar, 2/3 cup evaporated milk, pinch of salt. Dissolve butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan. Add in sugar and milk. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 8 mins, stirring often to prevent the base from scorching. Remove from heat and store in a glass container for several weeks in fridge.

Blueberry Compote : 3 cups frozen blueberries,  1/4 cup fine sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 lemon zest. Combine blueberries and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 6 mins until thickens. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Remove from heat. Serve warm or chilled.

How to feed and maintain Herman starter :

Baked Spicy Tuna Penne

With the start of June school holidays, I foreseen I will be busier than before...busy in the kitchen churning food out on time for the two hungry kiddos!! Like today, they exclaimed they wanted lunch when its only 11.30am!! With super fast speed, I've prepared a simple and delicious baked pasta (spicy version for adult, non spicy for kids) for lunch. 

Ingredient

• 125gm Penne
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 100gm white button mushroom, sliced
• 5 pitted black olives, sliced
• 1 can chilli tuna, drained
• 120gm tomato sauce
• salt & pepper to taste
• 120gm grated mozzeralla

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in some salt, follow by the Penne. Cook till al dente and remove from pot. Toss with some olive oil and set aside. 
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pan. Add in onion and saute till soft and fragrant. Add in garlic and fry briefly. Add diced celery and fry for a min.
3. Add in mushroom and black olive and mix well. Add in a few tbsp of pasta water to moisten the mixture. Add chilli tuna and tomato sauce, mix and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add in cooked Penne and toss well. Add in a few tbsp of pasta water if its too dry. Remove from heat and transfer to a baking dish.
5. Sprinkle cheese evenly over Penne dish and bake in preheated oven at 200 deg for 15 mins till cheese melted and golden brown at the edge. 

Seafood White Mee Hoon 海鲜百米粉

Wholesome plate of homemade seafood white hoon! I can pile up as much seafood as I like! hahaha Seafood overdose....

Clear my last box of homemade collagen stock. I can't describe to you how smooth and sweet the broth tasted together with all the seafood added! It just tasted superb! Not a difficult dish to prepare as long as the seafood are fresh! 

Ingredient

• 500gm slipper lobster
• 500gm white clams
• 300gm fresh squid
• 8 large prawns
• 200gm napa cabbage, sliced
• 250gm dried vermicelli (chilli brand)
• 3 large cloves, minced
• 6 slices ginger, thinly sliced
• 6 cups homemade collagen stock
• 2 tbsp Chinese wine
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
• pepper to taste
• cornflour mixture for thickening
• coriander leaves, for garnishing
• crispy pork lardon, for garnishing

Method

1. Preparing the seafood : Soak the white clams in salted water for at least 1 hour. Clean the slipper lobster thoroughly. Chop lengthwise into halve. Remove the head and internal organs of the squid. Peel off the outer film. Rinse thoroughly and cut into slices. Trim the prawns and rinse thoroughly.
2. Soak the vermicelli for 10 mins. Drain away water.
3. Heat 2 tbsp pork lard in a hot wok. Add in ginger slices and fry till lightly brown. Add in minced garlic. Fry briefly.
4. Add in slipper lobster and fry over medium high heat. Add in prawns and fry till prawn almost turn pink. Remove the prawn and set aside. (I do not want to overcook the prawn therefore remove it before adding the rest of the ingredients)
5. Add in clams and mix well. Toss in napa cabbage. 
6. Add the stock and bring to boil. Cover wok with a lid and simmer for 5 mins.
7. Remove lid. Add in sliced squid, prawns and softened meehoon. Mix well.
8. Add in Chinese wine, fish sauce and pepper to taste. Let the mixture simmer over medium high heat for 5 mins so that the meehoon can absorb the flavour well. Stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken the gravy. 
9. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup

Today let's enjoy a pot of hearty and nourishing Korean ginseng chicken soup!

Soft and moist glutinous rice perfectly cooked! 

Simple ingredients! fresh ginseng root, red dates and garlic.

Fill pot with water to submerge the whole chicken and let it simmer till cooked. Simple and delicious!

Ingredient

• one 1.4kg fresh chicken, feet and neck removed
• 1/2 cup glutinous rice, rinsed and soaked in water for at least 1 hour
• 1 large fresh ginseng root, rinsed thoroughly
• 4 large red dates
• 1.5 bulbs garlic
• 2 stalk spring onion, sliced
• salt & black pepper to taste

Method

1. Trim away excess fats and rinse the chicken inside out thoroughly. Rub some salt all over including cavity and set aside for 30 mins. Rinse again.
2. Drain the glutinous rice and stuff into chicken cavity. Stuff in fresh ginseng, 2 red dates and 10 cloves garlic. Seal the end with a toothpick. 
3. Place the stuffed chicken into a deep casserole. Add in remaining red dates and garlic into the pot. Fill the pot with 2.5 litres water, cover and bring to boil. Cook on medium heat for 30mins.
4. Turn down heat to low and cook for another 40 mins, pot covered until the chicken and rice turn soft. In between cooking time, ladle some broth over the chicken. 
5. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Remove from heat and garnish with spring onion before serving. 

Recipe ref : maangchi.com

Soup Of The Day : Sword Flower Chicken Soup 霸王花雪梨鸡汤

I highly recommend this soup as it helps to soothe the lung and clear phlegm, especially beneficial during this erratic weather! 

Ingredient

• 500gm kampong chicken, cut into half 
• 400gm pork bones
• 40gm dried sword flower 霸王花 
• 1 large carrot, cut into chunks 红萝卜
• 1 Chinese pear, peeled and cut into quarters 雪梨
• 10gm yuzu 玉竹
• 10gm dried figs 无花果
• 2 honey dates 蜜枣
• 2 large red dates 红枣
• 15gm sweet Chinese almonds 南杏
• salt to taste

Method

1. Marinate kampong chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp Chinese wine. Set aside.
2. Blanch pork bones in boiling water for 1 min. Rinse well. Rinse the dried sword flower.
3. Place the pork bones, sword flowers, carrot, pear, yuzu, honey dates, red dates, almonds into a stock pot. Add 2.5L water. Bring to water. Lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.
4. Add in marinated kampong chicken and simmer for another 1 hour. Add salt to taste if desired.

Let's eat! Stir-fry french bean with olive vegetables, Hainanese pork chop & soup of the day

Pizza (Herman Starter)

My kids always brighten up when they see pizza being serve on the dining table! I don't think they will get sick of eating it weekly. ^0^ My Herman starter is bubbling very well. Each week I've will have ample of the starter use for baking. For the coming batch, I may bake some muffins or cookies with it and some pizza base (for freezing). 

Proof overnight (covered) at room temperature

Ingredient (knead by Kenwood BM250)

• 220gm Herman starter
• 120ml warm water
• 300gm plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Place Herman starter, warm water, plain flour and salt into bread maker pan. Select 'pasta dough' function. 
2. Transfer kneaded dough into a greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth and allow the dough to proof in room temperature until double in bulk. 
3. Place the proofed dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead lightly and divide into 2 portions. 
4. Place one portion dough onto a greased baking sheet. Press out the dough thinly. Use a fork to prick all over the surface. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg for 8 mins. 
5. Remove baking sheet from oven. Spread over your favourite sauce base, cheese and fillings. Return the baking sheet to oven and continue to bake at 200 deg cel for 15-20 mins until cheese  melted and edges all lightly brown. 

2 flavours pizza : (top pic) marinara sauce base, mozzarella & cheddar, ham, pineapple and cherry tomato (bottom pic) pesto base, mozzarella & cheddar, zucchini, white mushroom and grilled chicken 

Herman (Friendship) Cake

Besides using the Herman starter (sweet sourdough) for bread making, it can be incorporated into cakes or muffins! Love this fruit cake which is packed with fresh apples, dried fruits and cinnamon. The texture is moist and tender with sugar crunch toppings! I'm having fun exploring recipes using Herman starter. ^0^ Stay tune for the next coming post! 

Ingredient

• 220gm Herman starter
• 100gm cake flour
• 200gm plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 200gm fine sugar
• 2/3 cup rice bran oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 red apple, peeled and cut into chunks
• 100gm raisins
• 100gm dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together till sugar is well dissolved. Stir in oil and vanilla. Stir in Herman starter till well combined.
2. Add in both flour, salt, cinnamon powder and baking powder and fold till just combined.
3. Add in apples, raisins and cranberries and fold till well incorporated.
4. Pour the batter into a lined 8" round pan. Sprinkle brown sugar and melted butter over.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 90 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Tent the pan at the last 10-15 mins to prevent over browning. 
6. Cool in pan for 10 mins before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool down completely. 

Natural Yeast Wholemeal Bread

My first attempt of bread making using Herman starter (sweet sourdough) which turns out very well! This time I allow the dough to knead (x3) in the bread maker to reach window pane stage. Follow then the dough is divided, shaped and proofed in a pullman tin for 3 hours. Yes only one proofing needed! The bread texture remains soft on the second day. Simple healthy wholemeal bread which I can bake anytime to get rid of my excess Herman starter :P 

Ingredient

• 200gm Herman starter
• 300gm bread flour
• 50gm wholemeal flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 150gm cold water
• rolled oats

Method (knead by Kenwood BM250)

1. Place Herman starter and half of the water into bread maker pan. Add in flour and salt. Turn on bread maker and let the machine knead the dough (x2) until window pane stage. While the dough is kneading, slowly add in remaining water till the dough is smooth and not dry. 
2. Remove dough from bread maker and place onto a well floured working surface. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll out each portion into rectangle. Fold in and roll up like swiss roll. Place the rolled up dough into a pullman tin. 
3. Cover the pan lightly with a damp cloth and allow to proof in a warm area until 90% full. My loaf took about 3 hours to reach the height of the pan. Spray the surface with some water and sprinkle some rolled oats over. 
4. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 40 mins until golden brown. Remove the loaf from the pullman tin and cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Natural Yeast (Herman Starter) Pancakes

Thanks XL for introducing to me this natural yeast called Herman Starter. I've always curious with sourdough starter which seems rather complex to me. She assured me that this Herman Starter is much more user friendly and only require feeding it every 5 days to maintain its activeness. The top picture is the starter blessed by XL and after feeding 1:1:1:1 starter : milk: flour: sugar, it bubbled very well! After 5 days of fermentation, its ready for use! A portion was set aside, feed and maintain for another 5 days....the cycle goes go...hopefully it will stay active!

The first recipe I've tried using the Herman Starter is this fluffy natural yeast pancake! Soft and tender crumbs with lovely yeast fragrant. 

Ingredient

• 100gm Herman starter
• 200gm cake flour
• 20gm sugar
• 30gm melted butter
• 230ml fresh milk

Method

1. Sift cake flour into a mixing bowl. Add in sugar and stir well to combine.
2. Add in Herman starter, fresh milk and melted butter. Whisk to combine everything into a smooth thick batter.
3. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and allow it to proof in a warm area for 2-3 hours until double in bulk.
4. Lightly grease a non stick pan. Drop about 1/4 cup batter into hot pan and pan fry over low heat till golden brown at the base. Flip over and cook the other side. Repeat till batter is completed.
5. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredient (6 muffins)

• 60gm unsalted butter
• 50gm fine sugar
• 20gm light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 60gm plain yogurt
• 110gm plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 125gm fresh strawberry, chopped

Cheesecake filling

• 80gm cream cheese, softened 
• 1 small egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tbsp sugar

Method

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg, yogurt and vanilla. Beat till well combined.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry mixture over the egg mixture and fold in lightly. 
3. Add in chopped strawberries and fold until just combine.
4. Combine the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth and creamy.
5. Spoon 1 heap tablespoon of the strawberry muffin batter into muffin cups. Top with heap tbsp of cream cheese filling. Fill the cups with muffin batter till 90% full.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 20 mins.

Thai Milk Tea Creme Brûlée

What to do with the 4 leftovers egg yolks after baking the Cream Cheese Chiffon Cake? One thing came into my mind is to use it for creme brûlée! I do not want the usual vanilla custard dessert, therefore I google and decided to try out this Thai milk tea infused cream custard dessert. If you like Thai milk tea, I bet you will like this rich and creamy creme brûlée too! 

Ingredient (4 servings)

• 200ml dairy whipping cream
• 100ml water
• 125ml evaporated milk
• 3 Thai tea bags
• 5 tbsp condensed milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, heat cream, water and evaporated milk until it starts to boil. Turn off heat and add in Thai tea bags, stir well and let it steep for 15 mins. 
2. In another mixing bowl, combine condensed milk, sugar and salt. Add egg yolks and stir well to combine.
3. Strain the milk tea cream and press out the liquid as much as possible. 
4. Gradually add the milk tea mixture into egg mixture, whisking at the same time. Strain the mixture into a sprouted container. Pour the mixture into 4 individual ramekins. Scoop off any large bubbles in any.
5. Bake the creme brûlée in preheated oven at 100 deg cel for 45 mins until it is well set.
6. Remove the ramekins from oven and cool down slightly. Chill in fridge for a few hours.
7. To serve, spread about 2 tsp sugar evenly on the surface. Use a blowtorch to melt the sugar until it is browned. Serve immediately.

recipe ref : hotthaikitchen.com