Creamy Tuna & Mushroom Puff Pastry

I know Christmas is still sometime away but could not help playing with my food again when I saw a video on youtube on shaping the puff pastry into a x'mas tree! hahaha....Instead of using sweet filling as shown on the video, I've changed it to a savoury one. 

To make a complete meal, I also air fried some sweet corn, russet potatoes and carrots, which are seasoned with olive oil and McCormick Perfect Pinch Vegetable Seasoning.

Ingredient 

• 200gm fresh shiitake mushroom, finely chopped
• 2 x 150gm Ayam brand tuna flakes in olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 120gm cream cheese
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic & Pepper
• 1 tbsp McCormick Italian Blend Grinder
• salt to taste
• 4 sheets Pampas frozen puff pastry
• egg yolks for glazing

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in pan. Add garlic and shallots, saute till fragrant and brown. Add in mushroom and fry till mixture is almost dried.
2. Add in canned tuna, using the spatula to break up any tuna chunks. Fry for a minute till mixture is fairly dried. 
3. Add in cheese and seasoning and mix well. Remove mixture from pan and allow to cool down slightly.
4. Prepare puff pastry. Cut each pieces of the puff pastry to resemble x'mas tree. Stamp out star shapes with the scrap pastry. Spread tuna filling onto 2 pieces of the cut out pastry (there will be some balance of the filling). Cover with another piece the cut-out pastry. Press down lightly, especially the edges. If the pastry is too soft too handle, transfer to freezer/fridge to firm up.  Makes 5 horizontal cuts on both sides of the pastry to resemble the branches then twist the rows. Glaze the whole pastry with egg yolk.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 12 mins until crisp and golden brown. Serve warm.

Air Fried Smoky Montreal Steak with Herb Butter

This is an awesome complete steak meal fully done with the air fryer! The mixed vegetable and mushrooms are seasoned with McCormick Perfect Pinch Seasoning and drizzle of olive oil. Whereas the slice of beef ribeye is seasoned with McCormick Smoky Montreal Steak seasoning which turned out very flavourful and tender and topped with a huge chunk of homemade herb butter.....daebak!! 

Herb Butter (recipe as below)

Grilled Beef Ribeye : Drizzle 2 tsp olive oil on both sides of a slice of 200gm beef ribeye. Spread 2 tsp of McCormick Smoky Montreal Steak Seasoning all over. Set aside for 30 mins. Preheat air fryer at 200 deg cel for 5 mins. Place ribeye on a baking rack. Air Fry at 200 deg cel for 8-10 mins.  Flip once halfway through cooking. Remove and cover in a foil to rest for 5 mins before serving. 

Grilled Mixed Vegetables : Toss asparagus, cherry tomatos, corn cob, russet potato, portobello mushroom with a tbsp of olive. Sprinkle 1 tbsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Vegetable Seasoning and  1/2 tsp McCormick Himalayan Pink salt over the mixed vegetable and coat well. Air fry sweet corn/potato at 200 deg cel for 12 mins, asparagus/portobello/tomato/garlic at 200 deg cel for 6 mins

Herb Butter : 125gm unsalted butter, 1 heap tsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic Pepper, 1 heap tsp Grill Mates Smoky Montreal Steak, 1 heap tbsp McCormick Italian Blend Grinder, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 cup chopped spring onion

 Combine all herbs & spices with softened butter, stir well to incorporate

Place herb butter mixture over a piece of cling wrap. Roll up like a cylinder. Chill in fridge till solid. Slice and use accordingly. 

Roasted Ratatouille & Sausage Strata

Ingredient

• 1 large zucchini
• 200gm white button mushroom
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 large tomato
• 4 garlic sausages, cut into bite sizes
• 8 slices wholemeal bread, sliced into 4 squares
• 250gm mozzarella cheese
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic Pepper
• 2 tsp McCormick Italian Blend
• 1/2 tsp McCormick Himalayan Salt 

Egg Custard

• 4 large eggs
• 200ml fresh milk
• 200ml cooking cream
• 1 tsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Vegetable Seasoning
• 1 tsp sugar

Baked mixed vegetables with herbs and olive oil

Layer bread, roasted vegetables and sausages into greased baking dish

 Pour in egg custard to soak into the bread mixture

Method (I divided the ingredients equally into two 7"x7" pan)

1. Cut zucchini, mushroom, bell pepper and tomato into cubes. Toss the mixed vegetables with olive oil, garlic pepper, salt and herbs. Spread the mixture into a lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 15 mins until softened. Toss the mixture in the middle of baking.
2. Combine the egg custard mixture and seasoning. Whisk well and set aside for use later.
3. To assemble, place a layer of bread onto a well greased baking dish. Scoop half of the roasted mixed vegetable and sausages over the bread. Repeat the process by placing another layer of bread slices over the mixed vegetables. Lastly place the remaining roasted vegetables and sausages over the second layer of bread.
4. Pour the custard mixture into the layered bread and vegetables. Press down firmly to ensure the bread is well soaked with the custard. Lastly top it with shredded mozzarella cheese.
5. Wrap the baking dish with foil and allow it to sit in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
6. Remove the baking dish from the fridge and bring it to room temperature before baking. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 20 mins. Remove foil and continue to bake for 15-20 mins till cheese is golden brown and custard is well set. Serve warm.

Recipe ref : dairygoodness.ca & honeybee sweets 

Chilli & Pepper Grilled Squid

I rarely grilled/baked seafood in an oven especially squid/prawn which they easily turned hard and chewy if overcooked. But today I attempted this Chilli & Pepper Grilled Squid in the air fryer and it turned out so succulent and tender!! Hahaha serve one squid for one person but turned out not enough as they tasted so mouthwatering!

Ingredient

• 4 medium squid, approx 550gm
• 4 slices lemon, sliced into half 
• a pack of mesclun salad 
• chopped spring onion
• toasted white sesame seeds

Marinade

• 2 stalk spring onion, chopped 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp red chilli pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp wine
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp Grill Mates Chilli & Pepper BBQ Sauce
• 1 tsp McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic Pepper
• 1/4 tsp McCormick Himalayan Pink Salt

Method

1. Clean the squid by removing the head,innards and cartilage. Cut the tentacles, discarding the eyes section. Rinse the squid tube thoroughly and drain well.
2. In a medium bowl, combine marinade ingredients and mix well. Add in squids and its tentacles and coat evenly with the marinade. Spoon some of the marinate into the squid tube as well. Cling wrap and chill in fridge for about 30 mins.
3. Before cooking, bring the marinated squids to room temperature. Preheat air fryer at 230 deg cel for 5 mins. Line the baking pan and place sliced lemons over. Drain the squids from the marinade and place over the sliced lemon. Spray some cooking oil evenly over the squids.
4. Set air fryer at 230 deg cel for 8 mins. Grill for 3 mins. Glaze with reserved marinade and continue to grill for 1 min. 
5. Turn the squid over, spray some cooking oil over and grill for 3 mins. After 3 mins, glaze with remaining marinate and finish the grilling for another 1 min. Rest for 5 mins. Garnish with spring onion and sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Air Fried Sio Bak & Char Siew

Thanks to Mister I've got the chance to play with my new toy Roman Halogen Air Fryer! I'm happy with my first attempt air frying crispy roasted pork belly and barbecue pork which both turned out crisp succulent and juicy. Usually I will use my convection oven for roasting which is rather oily and smelly after used. Surprisingly with this air frying method, though there will still be some oil splattering, the cleaning is so much easier and no strong porky smell lingering in the kitchen and the equipment itself! Do take note the the heat element of this Roman Air Fryer may be different with other brands of air fryer, so the cooking temperature and duration I've attempted is for my own reference. Happy Air Frying!! 

Air Fried Crispy Roast Pork
Ingredient

• 1 kg pork belly, skin on
• 2 tsp distilled vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp sea salt (to be rub on skin only)

Combine the following seasoning for meat area

• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 tbsp hua tiao jiu

Method

1. Rinse pork belly and blanch briefly in boiling water. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Place belly skin side down and sprinkle the mixed seasoning over and rub them in.
2. Turn the pork belly over, prick the skin evenly all over. Brush skin with vinegar and rub 1/2 tbsp sea salt evenly all over the skin. Chill the whole pork belly in fridge for at least 24 hours without covering.
3. Bring the pork belly to room temperature. Preheat air fryer at 180deg cel for 5 mins. Line the base of air fryer with foil and place the wire rack over. Place the pork belly, skin side up, on the wire rack. Air fry at 180 deg cel for 30 mins. After 30 mins, prick the skin once more to ensure even crackling. Increase temperature to 200 deg cel and continue to air fry for 25-30 mins until the skin is blistering and golden brown. 
4. Remove roasted pork belly from air fryer and cool it down completely before slicing.

Air Fried Char Siew

Ingredient

• 600gm pork shoulder butt, cut into stripes
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese wine
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Rinse and pat dry pork. Combine all seasoning and mix well with pork. Cover and chill overnight. 
2. Bring marinated pork to room temperature. Preheat air fryer at 200 deg cel for 5 mins. Line the base of air fryer with foil and place a wire rack over. Drain the pork and reserve the marinated liquid. Place the pork over wire rack. Air fry at 200 deg for 10 mins. 
3. Flip the pork over and continue to air fry at 160 deg cel for 25 mins until nicely browned.
4. Remove char siew from air fryer and cool down before slicing.
5. Strain the reserved marination and bring to boil. Serve the gravy with sliced char siew.

Lemon Blueberry Cake with Frosty Whip

Time flies and my elder boy has turned 11th yesterday!! As usual I've baked a simple birthday cake for him everytime of this year! Lousy with decorating so I make use of edible cake image for the cake with minimal piping/decoration. ^0^ 

I thought I've used a lot of whipped cream for the layering, but it did not turn out otherwise. Anyway is a nice cake to enjoy...moist and tender crumbs packed with juicy blueberries and lemony flavour. 

Ingredient (one 8" x 8" layer cake)

• 250gm salted butter
• 200gm fine sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 300gm cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 250ml homemade buttermilk
• 125ml fresh lemon juice
• 300gm frozen blueberries (coat with 2 tbsp plain flour to prevent sinking)

Frosting : 100gm frosty whip powder with 50gm chilled water & 50gm lemon juice

Method

1. Sift cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. 
2. Using electric whisk, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add in lemon zest and beat to combine.
3. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat till mixture is white and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.
4. Using low speed beat in flour, alternate with buttermilk and lemon juice, until just combined. Do not beat on high speed. Use a spatula and fold in blueberries. 
5. Spread the cake batter into two 8" square shallow pan.* Bake in preheated oven at 160deg cel for 30-35mins, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Rest the cake in pan for 10mins. Remove cake and transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely before frosting. 

* I halved the recipe and bake the cake one by one as my oven is small. 

Chinese Roasted Chicken 烧鸡

If you are bored with the usual westernised baked chicken, try this Chinese roasted chicken for a change! The flavour is so inviting while roasting and I could not wait to savour it! Even my kids could not get enough of it. 

I've marinated the chicken for 2 days! Prior to baking, leave the chicken in room temperature and air dry for at least 3-4 hours.

After baking for 30 mins @ 200 deg cel and 35 mins @ 130 deg cel. Love the perfect golden brown skin!

Ingredient

• 1 medium chicken, approx. 1 kg
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 thumb size ginger, sliced
• 2 stalk green onion, cut into sections
• 1 tbsp Chinese wine
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder

Method

1. Clean the chicken and pat dry thoroughly. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Stuff half of the garlic, ginger and spring onion into the cavity of the chicken.
2. Place the chicken in a ziplog bag. Pour in the marinade and some into the chicken cavity. Seal the bag firmly. Rub the bag gently to ensure the chicken is evenly coated with the sauce. Keep in fridge overnight. Turn the bag a few times in between marination time.
3. On day of roasting, take out the chicken. Discard the liquid and spices. Truss the legs place on a wire rack, breast side up, and air dry until the skin becomes tightened and dry. (I on the the fan and air dry for 3 hours).
4. Place the chicken on the low rack and bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 30 mins. Lower temperature to 130 deg cel and bake for another 30 mins. 
5. Cool down for 15 mins before before serving.

recipe ref : www.chinasichuanfood.com

Dark Savoury Sauce for Noodle
Ingredient 

• 1/2 pc non msg chicken stock cube
• 350ml water
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1  tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Bring water to boil. Dissolve the stock cube. Stir in remaining seasoning and bring to a simmer for 1 min. Set aside till use.