Banana Chocolate Cinnamon Roll

Its been a while I've baked cinnamon roll and I'm having bad cravings for it and chocolates too! Manage to discover this awfully delicious cinnamon rolls recipe. I've modified the recipe by adding chocolate nutella spread and peanuts chocolate chips just to clear the balance from my pantry. Beside moreish banana chocolate filling, some banana is also kneaded into the dough, double dose of bananas! Yummy! Feel so satisfying after biting into this fluffy and scrumptious rolls! ^0^ 

Drizzle more nutella spread if you like!

Ingredient (knead & 1st proofing my Kenwood BM250)

• 420gm bread flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 banana, sliced
• 125ml milk, warmed
• 2 tsp yeast 
• 2 tsp fine sugar
• 100ml buttermilk
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 egg
• 70gm unsalted butter, softened

Fillings

• 5 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon powder 
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut, chopped
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup chocolate nutella spread, warmed
• 1 banana, sliced

Method

1. Combine warmed milk, yeast and sugar together. Let the mixture sit for 10 mins until frothy.
2. Add in buttermilk, honey, egg, butter and yeast mixture into bread maker pan. Gently add in flour and salt. Select 'dough' function and allow the machine to knead and proof the dough, approx 1.5 hours.
3. Dust a working surface with flour. Remove the proof dough from the bread maker. Gently knead the dough and roll out into a large rectangle. 
4. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and butter and stir well. Spread the mixture over the dough. Drizzle nutella spread follow by walnut, chocolate chips and banana.
5. Roll up the dough firmly like a swiss roll. Pinch the edge to seal it. Slice the roll into 10-12 sections and place into a lined baking pan. Allow to proof for another 40 mins until double in bulk. Glaze the surface with some milk.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 35 min until golden brown. Gently remove the rolls from pan and cool on wire rack. Serve warm or cooled.

messy rolls as the dough is really soft...but that's not important ^0^''''

Soft fluffy texture! 

Ginger Peach Yogurt Popsicles

Let's have some icy popsicles to beat the heat! The weather is so unbearable this whole week! With some canned peaches, plain yogurt, honey and a special ingredient 'ginger powder', blend it till creamy and pour into popsicle mould. Freeze till firm and you get to enjoy a brain freezing dessert anytime! I absolutely love this 100% ginger powder. It contains no preservative, no colouring, no sugar which makes a convenient way to add into your cooking, baking and making drinks! 10kg fresh ginger is used to produce 1 kg ginger extract. So you get a really concentrated ginger drink with just a pack dissolved in water! 

Ingredient

• 8 pcs peach halves
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 sachet ginger powder
• 4 tbsp canned peach syrup
• 1/3 cup honey

Method

1. Combine ginger powder with peach syrup and stir till the powder is well dissolved.
2. Place all the ingredients into a blender and process till smooth.
3. Transfer mixture into popsicle mould and freeze overnight.

Sardines Puff Pastry Tart

Quick and simple lunch for my two kiddos. Effortlessly for me too which I need not spend much time in the hot kitchen! I simply love frozen puff pastry! Its so versatile which you can make it into a light meal by spreading over your favourite toppings and then pop it into the oven and bake till golden brown. I've made a simple tomato sauce for the base instead of using canned ones which are usually high in sodium. Homemade fast food can be healthy and of course delicious too! 

Cherry Tomato Sauce

Ingredient

• 400gm cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Italian mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Rinse cherry tomato and cut into halves. Toss the tomatoes with seasoning and olive oil.
2. Spread the tomatoes onto a lined baking tray. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 25 mins. Cool completely and blend till smooth.

Sardines Puff Pastry Tart

Ingredient 

• 8 pieces sardines halves in extra virgin olive oil
• 5 stalks fine asparagus
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• egg for glazing

Method

1. Place puff pastry on a lined baking sheet. Use a knife to scour a border, about an inch inside from the edge of the puff pastry. Use a fork to pierce inside all over the tart.
2. Spread a layer of cherry tomatoes sauce over the tart and arrange sardines and asparagus on it.
3. Glaze the border with egg wash. Bake in preheated oven at 220 deg for 25 mins until golden brown. Serve warm.

Kueh Sarlat

Love this Nonya Kueh Sarlat to bits! 100% natural colourings extracted from blue pea flowers and fresh pandan leaves! I've blessed half of the kueh to my neighbour and she told me its really yummy! The remaining half was polished up by my kids and hubby....and I only managed to savour one piece only. ^0^ 

Pretty white and blue marbling! 

Vibrant green pandan custard layer after steaming

Ingredient

Glutinous rice layer

• 300gm glutinous rice, rinsed
• 200ml Ayam brand lite coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 blades pandan leaves, cut into sections
• 30 blue butterfly pea flower
• 100ml water

Pandan custard layer

• 3 medium eggs
• 200ml Ayam brand coconut cream
• 150gm fine sugar
• 100ml concentrated pandan juice
• 10gm corn flour
• 30gm plain flour

Method

1. Combine water and bluepea flower and bring to boil. Simmer on low heat for 5 mins. Turn off heat and steep for 10 mins. Strain the mixture and set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile rinse the glutinous rice thoroughly till water runs clear. Drain well and divide the glutinous rice into 3 parts. Place 2 parts in a bowl and add water to submerge the grains completely. Add bluepea flower juice into the remaining 1 part. Top up with more water if necessary to that all grains are covered in the blue liquid.
3. Allow the soaked glutinous rice to sit overnight. 
4. On the actual day of cooking, drain the glutinous rice and spread out onto two separate steaming dish. Shred the pandan leaves slightly and place between the rice grains.
5. Add salt to coconut milk and mix well. Divide the coconut milk into 3 parts. Drizzle 2 parts into the white grains and 1 part into the blue rice. Stir well to combine coconut milk with the rice grains. Steam the rice over high heat for 20 mins.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the pandan custard layer. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together. Add in coconut milk and pandan juice. Stir in corn flour and plain flour and whisk till smooth and free of lumps. Strain the mixture into a heat proof bowl. Set aside.
7. When the rice is done steaming, combine the both rice into a greased 7" square pan (lined with banana for ease of unmoulding) and press down firmly with a back of a metal spoon. Place the tin into a steamer and turn on heat on medium low flame.
8. Cook the pandan custard over bain-marie. Stir continuously until custard just begins to thicken. Pour the custard mixture over the rice layer and steam over very low heat  until the custard sets, which takes about 30mins. 
9. Leave the kueh to cool completely before unmoulding and slicing.

recipe ref : travellingfoodie.com

Can you see the texture of the pandan custard? Its really soft and smooth! nom..nom..nom...

Cooking with "Dancing Chef" : Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste and Laksa Paste

Thanks again Singapore Homecooks and Dancing Chef for the free sampling of their delicious Chicken Rice Paste and Laksa Paste! No I'm not cooking the traditional Hainanese chicken rice or the usual laksa! Its actually really easy to incorporate these paste into your daily cooking. Check out below on how I've created 2 dishes using the Chicken Rice Paste and Laksa Paste now!

Hainanese Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken rice flavour meat fillings without rice added...hahaha....Really love the combination of this savoury and creamy chicken filling top with golden crisp puff pastry! Do give it a try to this Chinese style chicken pot pie if you want a change from the usual western version one. ^0^ 

Hainanese Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredient

• 500gm boneless & skinless chicken thigh meat
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp ginger juice
• 1 tbsp Chinese wine
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 stalk lemongrass, used lower section, lightly bruised
• 2 pandan leaves, knotted
• 1 stalk spring onion, sliced
• 1 packet Dancing Chef Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste
• 350ml water
• 2 tbsp corn flour + 1 tbsp
• pepper to taste
• 1 sheet frozen pastry puff
• 1 egg, lightly beaten for glazing

Chilli Garlic Sauce (blend till smooth)

• 100gm fresh red chillies, deseeded
• 40gm garlic
• 40gm ginger
• 5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt

Method

1. Cut chicken thigh meat into small cube and marinate with salt, ginger juice, wine, sesame oil for at least 30 mins. 
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onion, lemongrass and pandan leaves and saute till fragrant.
3. Add in chicken cubes and fry over medium high heat till meat turn white.
4. Add in carrot and celery and mix well. Stir in Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste and mix well for a minute. 
5. Add in water and bring to a boil. Cover pan and simmer on low heat for 15 mins. Add in cornflour solution to thicken the gravy. Stir in spring onion. Remove from fire and set aside while preparing the puff pastry.
6. Prepare 4 ramekins. Lightly grease the edge of the ramekins with some butter. Cut the puff pastry into 4 rounds, slightly larger than the circumference of the ramekins.
7. Ladle chicken pie mixture into individual ramekins. Place puff pastry over and press down the edge to adhere. Glaze the pastry with beaten egg. Bake in preheated oven at 220 deg for 20 mins until golden brown.

Asian Cucumber Salad

Ingredient

• butterhead lettuce, shredded
• Japanese cucumber, cut into rounds
• cherry tomatoes, cut into half
• coriander leaves
• red chilli

Salad dressing

• 5 calamansi juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp low sodium light soy sauce
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Method

1. Mix salad dressing till well incorporated. Set aside for 15 mins for the flavour to develop.
2. Place lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomato, coriander leaves and chilli in a mixing bowl. Drizzle salad dressing and toss well. Cover and place in fridge till serve.

Baked Seabass with Laksa Paste....this dish is so easy to whip up and tasted equally delicious! I hate frying fish hahaha...so it is a good idea to bake it. I've added some roughly chopped dried shrimps and fresh laksa leaves to the laksa paste for some texture and extra flavours. The spice paste is kind of spicy, to mellow down the heat I've added some sugar and coconut milk. Believe me, this baked fish is so tender and sweet, goes well with this exotic laksa paste! 

Ingredient

• 1 whole seabass approx. 800gm
• 1 packet "Dancing Chef" Laksa Paste
• 2 heap tbsp dried shrimp, softened and coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• banana leaves 

Method

1. Clean seabass thoroughly and pat dry. Make 3 diagonal slits on both sides of the fish. Rub 1 tbsp oil and 1/2 tsp salt all over the fish.
2. Combine laksa paste, dried shrimp, sugar and coconut milk together.
3. Place fish on a baking tray lined with banana leaves. Spread the paste all over the fish, including its cavity. 
4. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 25 mins, depending on the size of the fish or until the meat cooks and flakes easily.

Celebrate this National Day with the local favourites that Singaporeans grew up with. Tantalise taste buds with two dishes: chicken rice and laksa, which you can prepare in just a few easy steps with Dancing Chef™ pastes. Dancing Chef™ pastes contain no MSG, preservatives or artificial colouring, making them a natural product. 

From 1 July to 31 August 2017, get more bang for your buck when you purchase Dancing Chef™ products. Purchase three packets of Dancing Chef™ pastes at just S$7.45 (UP: S$2.85/packet). Exclusively available at NTUC Fair Price supermarkets.

Peranakan Lunch

Chicken Sioh
Ingredient

• 5 whole chicken leg
• 170gm shallot, peeled and sliced
• 700ml water
• 170gm tamarind paste

Seasoning

• 3 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp salted bean paste
• 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp pepper

Method

1. Rinse chicken leg and pat dry. Marinade with 2 tsp chicken seasoning powder and 1 tsp pepper for at least 1 hour in fridge.
2. Combine tamarind paste with 400ml water. Mix well till paste is dissolved. Strain away the seeds.
3. Heat 3 tbsp oil in wok. Add shallot and fry till fragrant over low heat. Add marinated chicken leg and fry for 5 mins.
4. Add in seasoning, tamarind water and remaining 300ml water. Bring to boil. Stir to mix well.
5. Lower heat, cover with lid and simmer for 30 mins until the chicken leg is cooked and tender. Stir the mixture in between to prevent the mixture from scorching.

Recipe ref : travellingfoodie.com

Telor Tempra

Ingredient

• 4 large eggs
• 1 small onion, peeled & sliced
• 1 red chilli, seeded & sliced
• 5 calamansi lime, extracted juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 stalk spring onion, cut into sectioned
• 2 tbsp oil

Method

1. Heat oil in wok, pan fry eggs individually until browned along the edges. Remove and set aside.
2. With remaining oil in wok, saute onions until soft and lightly browned.
3. Add chilli, calamansi juice, sugar, dark soy sauce and salt and mix well. Add hot water and bring to boil. Simmer for about a minute.
4. Adjust taste accordingly with more salt or sugar. Toss in spring onion and mix well. Pour the sauce over fried eggs and serve. 

Ingredient

• 300gm sweet potato leaves
• 300gm red spinach leaves
• 200gm sweet potatoes
• 25gm dried shrimps
• 5 red chilli, deseeded
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 6 shallots, peeled
• 200ml coconut cream
• 200ml water
• salt to taste

Method

1. Wash sweet potato leaves and spinach. Pluck off leaves, chop stalks to finger-lengths and discard the stringy fibre on the surface of each stalk.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges, soak in tap water.
3. Soak dried shrimps for 10 mins.
4. Combine dried shrimps, chilli, garlic & shallot in a food process and blend till fine.
5. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok. Add spice mixture and stir fry till fragrant, about 3 mins.
6. Add water and sweet potatoes and cook till potatoes are tender.
7. Add in coconut cream and bring to a boil.
8. Add vegetable and bring to boil on high heat. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Taiwanese Chicken Popcorns 盐酥鸡

Revisiting these two Taiwanese recipes after I've finally found the bottle of spice salt 椒盐 which is essential for making the Taiwanese chicken popcorn! This will be our light lunch today. The kids will be thrilled to see their favourite chicken popcorn on the dining table! 

Taiwanese Egg Pancake recipe click here

Taiwanese Chicken Popcorn

Ingredient

• 600gm chicken fillet, cubed
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 small egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp chicken seasoning powder
• 1/2 tbsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• sweet potato starch for coating
• 50gm sweet basil leaves
• pepper salt powder, 椒盐

Method

1. Marinate chicken fillet cubed with seasoning for at least 2 hrs or overnight.
2. Heat a medium pot of oil.  Evenly coat each chicken pieces with sweet potato starch. Deep fried in batches till golden brown. Deep fried basil leaves in batches with the chicken before dishing up. Drain on kitchen paper.
3. Place fried chicken pops & basil leaves in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle over pepper salt powder and shake to coat evenly.