Chinese Tofu Salad

This is healthy wholesome Chinese style salad consisted for beancurd stripes, fresh kelp, carrots, beansprout, black fungus, bean vermicelli, bell pepper and celery. The salad dressing is a typical Chinese blend like dark vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, chilli oil etc. I've added tbsp of Borges extra virgin olive oil which blends well into this salad dressing and adding extra nutritional value into this tofu salad. 

A great tasty tofu salad which can be served as a main dish! I had a huge serving as lunch but I serve it as a light afternoon snack for my kids.

Ingredient

• 150gm shredded beancurd sheet 百页豆腐
• 100gm five spiced beancurd 五香豆干
• 100gm fresh shredded kelp
• 100gm beansprouts
• 50gm softened black fungus
• 50gm softened bean vermicelli
• 50gm carrots, shredded
• 50gm red capsicum, shredded
• 50gm Chinese celery, shredded

Sauce

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Borges Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 5 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp dark vinegar
• 1 tbsp chilli oil
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds

A very versatile salad dressing which you can adjust the taste as your liking. If you do not like it spicy, just omit the chilli oil. Prefer it to be more tangy or sweet, add more dark vinegar and sugar. But the overall taste still must be well balanced with right amount of sourness, savoury and spiciness.

Method

1. Rinse fresh kelp thoroughly to remove excess salt. Soak in water for at least 30 mins.
2. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Blanch shredded beancurd, five spiced beancurd, beansprout, vermicelli, black fungus and kelp individually. Drain well each item and place them into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add in carrots, capsicum and Chinese celery into the mixing. 
4. Combine all the sauce ingredient and whisk well. Drizzle the dressing over beancurd mixture. Toss gently and thoroughly to ensure that all vegetables and tofu are well coated with the sauce. Serve chilled or at room temperature. 

Chinese Pastries : Wu Kok & Xi'An Stuffed Pancakes

Chinese Pastries : Wu Kok & Xi'An Stuffed Pancakes. Yay or nay when school holidays started?! 😅😆😂 More time at home means that I need to standby some snack to satisfy their forever hungry tummies. I seldom deep fried food as I dislike smoky and oiliness in the kitchen. I've chosen a healthier cooking oil like Borges Grapeseed oil which is cholesterol free, contains vitamin E and A. It also has a high smoke point of 210-245 deg cel, ideal for sautéing, deep frying and fondues. 

#BorgesRecipes Want the best from the Mediterranean? We are giving away three sets of Borges Gift Basket worth $60 at http://bit.ly/2INmCz4

Wu Kok 芋角 (Fried Taro Puff)..the honeycomb effect is not so obvious (maybe I should have fried it longer) but I'm relieved that all the puffs did not disintegrate in the pot of oil. Not an easy pastry to make but the result is worthwhile when you bite into this moreish yam puff! 

Ingredient (8 qty)

• 300gm yam, steamed & mashed
• 80gm wheat starch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 80gm boiling water
• 40gm butter
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp five spice powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 cup Borges Grapeseed oil

Filling

• 160gm gm chicken breast meat, diced
• 50gm mixed vegetables
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 tbsp Borges Grapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• dash of pepper
• 1 tbsp corn flour + 3 tbsp water

Method

1. Prepare filling : heat oil in pan and saute onion till soft. Add chicken meat and stir fry till lightly brown. Add in mixed vegetables and seasoning and toss well to mix. Add in corn starch solution to thicken the mixture. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Prepare the dough : Steam yam till soft and mash. Place wheat starch and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and quickly mix it into a rough dough. Add in hot mashed yam, butter and seasoning. As the mixture is sticky and soft, I used a small spatula to 'knead' it.  Set aside till the dough is cool enough to handle.
3. Divide the yam dough into 8 equal portions, approx. 60gm each. Dust hands with flour generously. Take a portion of yam dough, flatten it and wrap in 2 tbsp of meat fillings. Seal the edge and shape it neatly. Place the pastry on a lined plate. Repeat steps with remaining yam dough.
4. Heat oil in a small saucepan. Note oil must be real hot before adding in the yam puff! Gently slide 2 yam puffs into the hot oil and deep frying over medium heat till golden brown and honeycomb starts to form on the surface. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Best serve warm.

Xi'An Stuffed Pancakes 西安烧饼 ...A popular street food in Xi'An, one of the oldest cities in China. Doubt I have to chance to travel till so far to try out their authentic delicacies. That doesn't stop me from trying out the recipes at home sweet home hahaha...This Xi'An stuffed pancakes are quite similar to 葱油饼 Shallot Pancakes. But these are stuffed with sweet cabbage and flavoured minced meat instead of spring onion. This really taste good when its served hot with crisp exterior and moist fillings. 

Ingredient (8 qty)

• 300gm plain flour
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 150ml water + 1 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp Borges Grapeseed oil 

Fillings

• 200gm minced pork
• 3/4 tsp five spice powder
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of pepper

• 90gm finely chopped cabbage
• 1 spring onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• dash of pepper
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

1. Combine flour, yeast and sugar into a mixing bowl. Add in water and mix into a rough dough.
2. Add in grapeseed oil and knead dough for 5 mins till smooth and pliable. Cover and proof for 1 hour until double in bulk. 
3. Prepare the filling. Combine meat and seasoning together and set aside to marinate. Combine cabbage and seasoning and set aside.
4. Knead the proof dough lightly and divide it into 8 equal portions. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a long thin rectangle shape.
5. Lightly brush the rolled out dough surface with some oil. Spread some marinated meat mixture over. Add ant 2 tbsp cabbage mixture on one end. Roll the dough and seal the edge to form a cylinder. 
6. Stand the rolled dough and press it down flat. Lightly roll out and brush some oil over. Sprinkle some sesame seeds onto the surface and press it in to adhere.
7. Heat 1/2 cup grapeseed oil in a non-stick pan. Place pancakes, in batches, into heated oil. Fry for 3 minutes on each side,  till golden brown on both sides. Drain well on kitchen paper. Best serve hot. 

Lup Cheong Aglio Olio

Revisiting my fusion pasta I made few years ago ... Linguine Aglio Olio! hahaha I've made a few changes to the existing recipe so I changed the dish name too at the same time. 

Ingredient (2 servings)

• 250gm spaghetti
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Chinese preserved sausage, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 100gm fresh sliced mushrooms 
• handful of freshly chopped Chinese parsley 
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook pasta accordingly to package. Reserved 1/2 cup pasta water and drained the rest.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add Chinese sausage and fry for 1 min until crisp at the edge. Add garlic and dried chilli flakes and fry till garlic is lightly brown.
3. Add in mushroom and mix well. Drizzle in tbsp of reserved pasta water.
4. Add in drained pasta into the pan and mix evenly. Add in salt and pepper to taste. More chilli flakes if desired. Add in some pasta water if mixture is too dry. Toss in chopped parsley. Dish up and serve!

Double-boiled Black Chicken Herbal Soup

Ingredient

• 1 black chicken, 乌鸡
• 20gm dang shen，党参
• 20gm yu zhu，玉竹
• 5gm huang qi，黄芪
• 5gm dang gui，当归
• 5gm gan cao，甘草
• 2 large red dates，红枣
• 20gm wolfberries，枸杞子
• salt to taste

Method

1. Prepare a large pot of water and bring it to boil. Meanwhile prepare the chicken and herbs.
2. Cut off the head of the chicken and trim away claws. Rinse thoroughly inside out.
3. Rinse all the herbs except wolfberries.
4. Place the chicken into a porcelain pot with cover. Put all the herbs, except red dates and wolfberries, into the pot with the chicken. 
5. Add in 5 cups hot water into the chicken mixture. Cover.
6. Place a steaming rack into the large pot of boiling water. Carefully place in the porcelain pot. Cover the large pot and double-boil the chicken over medium heat for 3 hours. Top up hot water in the large pot if water reduce.
7. After 2.5 hours, add in the red dates and wolfberries and continue to cook for another 30 mins.
8. Add salt to taste and serve hot.

Gado Gado Pineapple Peanut Sauce

Ingredient

Peanut Sauce

• 250gm ground peanut 
• 500ml water
• 250gm homemade spice paste
• 1 cup canned pineapple, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp salt, or to taste
• 6 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste

Salad

• beansprout
• cabbage
• long beans
• carrots
• potatoes
• firm beancurd
• fried prawn crackers
• cucumber
• hard boiled egg

Method

1. Boil ground peanut with water over low heat. Stir frequently for 10 mins until thickens. Set aside.
2. Heat homemade rempah in a non stick pan. Add minced pineapple and fry for 5 mins. Add in salt, sugar and tamarind to taste.
3. Add in thickened peanut mixture and mix well. Boil over low heat for 5 mins until heated through. 
4. Heat a pot of water to boil. Blanch beansprout, cabbage, long beans, carrots and potatoes individually. Set aside on a large serving platter.
5. Deep fried beancurd till golden brown. Cool down slightly and cut into cubes.
6. Place appropriate amount of salad ingredients onto serving plate. Drizzle with pineapple peanut sauce and serve immediately.

Rainbow Hurricane Cake Roll

After some hiccups, I'm getting it right for this rainbow hurricane cake roll! Though there's lots of air pockets in the cake roll, it still pretty to look at! After baking so much swiss roll, think I'm finally overcome my fear of the rolling up process. ^0^

Ingredient (10"x10" pan)

Rainbow Batter

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 40gm rice bran oil
• 45gm fresh milk
• 55gm cake flour
• wilton food colourings 

Blue Batter* (for cocoa layer, omit blue colouring, use cake flour 15gm, cocoa powder 10gm)

• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 15gm rice bran oil
• 20gm fresh milk
• 25gm cake flour
• wilton food colouring

Meringue

• 4 egg whites
• 60gm fine sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Method

1. Whisk egg yolk with vanilla, oil and milk till well combined. Sift in cake flour and mix till a smooth batter is formed. Divide batter into 3 equal portions. Add in drops of food colourings and mix well. 
2. Repeat steps for blue batter.
3. In a clean dry bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar till foamy. Add in sugar and beat till firm peaked formed. Divide meringue into 4 equal portions, approx 50gm each. Fold each portion into individual tinted egg batter.
4. Spread the rainbow batter (pink, yellow, green) separately onto lined cake pan. Gently spread the blue batter on top of the rainbow batter. Using your index finger, draw vertical lines from top to bottom from one side of the pan to the other side. Repeat drawing horizontal line from left to right. Tap the pan lightly on work top to remove excess air bubbles.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 20-25 mins. Cool in pan for 5 mins. Flip the cake onto a clean paper. Remove the base lining. Gently roll up like a swiss roll. Leave to cool completely before frosting. Frost and chill for at least one hour before slicing.

Zucchini & Ham Muffins

I love savoury muffins which can be served as a healthy breakfast or light snack for kids whenever they feeling hungry. It is definitely healthier compare to the usual sweet muffins. But if you are sweet tooth, you may find savoury muffins are not your kind of food. Luckily my kids not complaining and happily chomp down these healthy and hearty zucchini and ham muffins. ^0^

Ingredient (12 qty)

• 250gm self rising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or any of your preference herbs)
• 100gm grated cheese (I've used mozzarella and emmental)
• 125gm honey baked ham, diced finely
• 250gm zucchini, grated and squeezed away excess liquid
• 190gm buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 50gm rice bran oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven at 200 deg cel. 
2. Sift flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add in herbs, cheese, ham, zucchini, salt and pepper, mix well using a spatula.
3. Combine buttermilk, eggs and oil and whisk well to combine.
4. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. Fold till just combine. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon batter into cup cases. Reduce oven temperature to 180 deg cel. Bake the muffins for 20 mins until golden brown or until cook through. Serve warm.