Simple cabbage soup

I think soup is the most easy yet nutritious dish as you just need to prepare the ingredients and dump them in a pot and wallah~! a hot, steamy nutritious soup that goes so well with rice. While the soup is boiling, you could also start attending to your other dish. I was taking pictures on my other dish (Ants Climbing the Tree) while the soup boiled in the kitchen. :)

Ingredients:

(yields 1 bowl, ard 800 ml)

4-5 leaves Chinese cabbage

1 handful anchovies

1 tsp of garlic (minced)

1 tsp of dried shrimp

1 tsp of ginger (minced)

1 tsp of vegetable oil

salt & pepper to taste

a dash of sesame oil

Method:

1) Wash and drain all the ingredients above (except salt and pepper)

2) Cut cabbage in pieces, about 1 inch size. Mince garlic and ginger.

3) Heat pot (i used metal pot) with oil under medium heat. Pour in anchovies, garlic, dried shrimp and ginger and stir fry until fragrant.

4) Pour in the water, cover with lid and wait until it start to boil.

5) Add in the cabbage and let it boil for 10-15 minutes.

6) Sprinkle with sesame oil, salt & pepper to taste.

7) Scoop into a bowl.

Outcome:

My boyfriend definitely prefers this soup over the other dish (Ants Climbing the Tree) as he helped me cleared the whole bowl of soup. You can try substituting the cabbage with other vegetables for this soup by omitting the ginger. I tried with baby spinach and was equally satisfied with this simple and delicious soup.

Ants Climbing the Tree (without ants version)

For the past few days, I have been cooking for dinner for the two of us at home as we think it is healthier and we are sick of packing and eating the same food everyday from this area. Since both of us are not very picky eaters, we are very happy to have very simple dishes everyday. Simple means 1 soup + 1 vegetable dish to go with rice.

Normally, the ingredients are prepared (soaking, washing, cutting & etc) a day ahead so that I can start cooking after I reach home from work. This definitely cut short the meal preparation time.

Today, I am cooking a dish named "Ants Climbing the Tree". This cuisine is mostly available in Chinese restaurants. I've always found this dish fantastic and very appetizing. It is a hot and spicy dish which originates from Szechuan, China. As the bits of meat are fried together with the mung bean vermicelli, the presentation resembles ants climbing up a tree.

However, I am going to skip the meat as both of us do not fancy eating meat.

Ingredients:

(2 persons)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 bundles dried mung bean noodles

1/2 small chili pepper (chopped)

1 tsp ginger (minced)

1 stalk chopped spring onion (cut in small rings)

1 dash sesame oil

Mixture of sauce (mixed ahead):

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tbsp rice wine
1 tsp spicy fermented bean paste

1 tbsp soya sauce

1/2 cup of chicken stock (I used water)

Method:

1. Soak the mung bean vermicelli in warm water for about 10 minutes. Drain well and cut into shorter lengths (around 1 inch) and put aside.

2. Heat up the wok under medium heat and pour in the vegetable oil. Swirl the oil around the wok.

3. Add small chili pepper, ginger & spring onion to the wok and stir fry briefly until aromatic.

4. Stir in the mixture sauce and noodles. Let the noodles absorb the sauce. Keep tossing briefly around 2-3 minutes and then sprinkled with some sesame oil.

5. Dish up.

Outcome:

It did not come out as much as I wished it could. It was so different from the ones I have tried in the restaurants. Furthermore, the noodles lumped together and it was very dry. It was not spicy enough though the overall taste was OK. In the end, we managed to finish it as it was edible. I would not rate this dish very high but hope to improvise my skill and ingredients in future.

Easy Egg Tarts

I am in the mood of baking and cooking now. Whenever I find the time, I would vigorously browse for interesting recipes so that I could start on it. Sometimes, I found too many good recipes I have a hard time choosing which one to start with.

I came across an egg tart recipe last night and thought that I should give it a try since it looked quite simple and I have all the ingredients that the recipe called for. But above all, this is also one of my boyfriend's favourite pastry.

Ingredients:

(yields 10 tarts)

Crust

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (chilled)

1 large egg

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

2/3 cup milk (I used fresh milk)

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 175 deg C.

2) For the crust, pulse to combine flour, sugar, salt & butter in a food processor until mixture is crumbly. As I do not own a food processor, I used stand mixer to do this.

3) Blend in the egg until the dough comes together into a dough. The dough can be crumbly.

4) Shape dough into a ball and put into a ziplock bag. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

5) Next is the filling. whisk together sugar and egg yolks by hand until sugar is mostly dissolved. Do not over stir until foamy.

6) Slowly, whisk in milk and strain mixture into a measuring cup.

7) Divide the chilled dough into 10 equal dough balls and press each one evenly into a muffin cup to form small tart shells.

8) Press pastry until it comes about 2/3 up the side of the muffin cup. Flatten the top edge of the crusts a bit with your finger to help prevent the filling from running out.

9) Pour the filling into the tart shells, filling them to the top but not overfilling.

10) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tarts are set but still slightly jiggly in the center when the pan is shifted.

11) Cool for about 30 minutes in the pan.

12) Take tarts out from the muffin pan using a butter knife and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from http://www.bakingbites.com

Outcome:

For a first timer in making egg tarts, I am quite satisfied with the results. The egg surface is quite smooth and the taste is just right! The slightly salty but heavy butter crust when combined with the smooth sweet egg custard within the shell is simply delicious. I would definitely make more of these and give it to my friends and family :)

Cheezy Pizza

My family and friends are crazy about thin crust pizzas especially my boyfriend. He can finish two 10 inches pizza on his own within 2 hours! He even indicated to me to concentrate my baking skills to only making pizzas since that is his favourite of all.

By looking at the variety pizza dough recipes on hand, it does not look complicated at all. Last night, I just followed the recipe provided in my bread maker machine and as usual, let the machine do the work of kneading and rising. However, when the dough is ready for me to do the shaping, it was in such a mess. The dough was too wet and sticky and so, so unmanageable. In the end, I just gave up and the whole thing ended up in the drain. It was such a let down.

This morning, I decided to modify the ingredients by reducing the amount of water. At least, this time around, the dough is much more better and manageable.

Ingredients:

(yields 2 ten inches pizzas)

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 1/2 cup bread flour

1 tbsp sugar

1tsp salt

1 tsp dry active yeast

Toppings:

Pizza tomato sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Vegetable oil

Method:

1) Dump all the ingredients according to the list above into the bread maker and select "Dough" function.

2) When the dough has completed, take out the dough with lightly floured hands and shape dough into a ball on a floured flat surface.

3) Divide the dough into half. Press each dough into greased 30 cm pizza pan.

4) Brush crust with vegetable oil. Cover and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

5) Spoon pizza tomato sauce over dough and top generously with cheese and toppings of your choice.

6) Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg. C for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Outcome:

Although the dough is meant for thin crust pizza, somehow to my disappointment, it came out 1.5-2 cm thick. Other than the thickness, the pizzas tasted not bad. The generous pizza sauce and cheese is enough to compensate the thick bread crust ;)

Sweet Orange Bread

I have been trying out the functions (Regular, Firm & Soft) from the bread maker. Up until now, I only managed to try out a few white and milk loaves following to the recipes from the instructions manual.

Since my only bread supporter in the house prefers and likes conservative plain breads, I normally do not make anything which is too adventurous for him, lest my bread will be left untouched. Yesterday, I was surfing for simple bread machine recipe and I stumbled upon this and thought that I should give it a try for a change.

Eventhough the recipe calls for using plain water and 2 tablespoon of orange juice concentrate, I modify a little bit by using just normal orange juice. I am not sure whether it will make a difference for the outcome.

Ingredients:
(yields a 1lb loaf)

1/3 cup plus 1 tbs orange juice
1 1/3 large eggs
1/3 tps grated orange zest
1/8 tps salt
2 cup bread flour
1 1/3 tbs instant dry milk powder
2 1/2 tbs sugar
1 tbs butter
1 1/3 tps dry instant yeast

Method:

1) Place all the ingredients according to the sequence as shown above or as per the bread machine's manual instructions.

2) Choose the function "Soft" or "Sweet Bun". The process of my machine is Rest:20 mins -> Kneading: 14-19 mins -> First rising: 49 mins -> Stir down & 2nd rising: 20 mins -> Stir down & 3rd rising: 25-30 mins -> Baking: 42-52 mins.

3) When done, unmould immediately and cool on wire rack.

Outcome:

While it was baking, the whole house was so refreshingly fragrant with strong bread and orange smell. The smell made us scurrying to the kitchen a few times to check it out! When I unmoulded the bread, I felt that the crust was slightly darker and harder than the normal soft bread and I guessed it should be due to the orange juice and zest. When I cut it this morning, I found that 1 cm into the skin layer was a bit dry to my taste. I might want to add 1-2 tablespoon of orange juice to find out whether this will help the next time. When I sliced through the 2nd slice from the skin, it was perfectly soft. I got a good munch into it and was delightful to find out there is a slight hint of orange taste within the bread!

Assorted Sweet Buns

Making bread has never been easier with the bread maker (Zojirushi) I bought 3 weeks ago. After dumping all the ingredients needed, I can just leave the breadmaker to do all the hard work.

Today, I am going to bake "Sweet Buns" using my bread maker for the 2nd time to prepare the dough. Previously, I prepared the dough of this recipe a few times by hand-kneading as well as by stand mixer. Hand-kneaded dough yielded softer texture bread compared to the stand mixer. Later, I would know how the bread maker fare.

I am going to make plain Sweet Buns and Sweet Buns with different fillings.


Ingredients:
(yields six buns)

85g milk
2/3 egg
100g bread flour
100g cake flour
2g salt
40g castor sugar
34g butter
3.5g active dry yeast

Filling (Optional):
(1tbs filling for each bun)
hazel nut spread (I used Nutella)
chunky peanut butter (I used Skippy)
raisins

Finishing:
1 egg for glazing
melon seed for topping (optional)
glaze with butter after baking for extra shine (optional)

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients according to the sequence stated above or according to the instruction manual of your bread maker. Select "Dough Function" and press "Start" button. For this machine, it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

2. Take out the dough from the baking pan and give a light kneading on a lightly floured surface.

3. Divide the dough into 6 portions, 60g each portion.

4. Rest the dough for 15 minutes with cling wrap or wet cloth.

5. Take out each dough to add fillings as desired. Place each dough on a greased/ lined pan (I had it lined with aluminium foil). Cover it loosely with a wet cloth or cling wrap. Let them rest for 25-30 minutes.

6. Remove cloth or cling wrap and brush the doughs with beaten egg glaze.

7. Bake for 15 minutes at 190 deg C preheated oven.

8. Take out from oven and place them on wire rack. Glaze with butter for finish and let cool.

Outcome:

The bread maker did a better job than my hand kneading skill and also kneading by mixer stand. This is the best sweet bun I have ever made so far. I woke up this morning and saw the following note from my housemate.

This recipe is definitely a keep!

Garlic Bun

On and off, I have started baking for the past few months. This is one of my many hobbies that I have fallen in love with almost instantly. Though I am not a crazy fan of breads, cakes and pastries; the joy and satisfaction from the process, the outcome (if successful), the smile and comments from my friends and family (aka free human testers) are almost priceless.

By blogging all my baking and cooking experiments, I am hoping to constantly improve my cookery skills while having fun doing it.

From the past months, I have been following very closely with one blogger's recipes (Happy Home Baking) as it yielded me a number of successful and satisfying bakes and cooks. Today, I am choosing garlic bun from the same site again and I managed to achieve satisfying results.

As there are only 2 persons living in the house, I have changed the volume of ingredients to yield a smaller quantity of the garlic buns.

Ingredients

(yields 3 buns)

75g milk (I used freshmilk)

75g bread flour

25g cake flour

7.5g or 2 tsp caster sugar

1/8 tsp salt

7.5g or 1.5 tsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp instant yeast

Filling:

15g butter

1 clove of garlic chopped (I used a larger clove)

1/2 tsp dried parsley

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients according to the sequence stated above or according to the instruction manual of your breadmaker. Select "Dough Function" and press "Start" button. I just let my breadmaker do all the kneading and rising work. This process takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes (Rest:20 min -> Kneading: 19 min -> First rising: 46 min -> Stir down -> 2nd rising: 20-25 min)

2. After the above process, take out the dough from the baking pan and give a light kneading on a lightly floured surface. This process is to deflate the dough to bring the gas out from the rising process.

3. Divide the dough equally into 3 dough balls. Cover it cling wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes. I simply put those 3 doughs back into the baking pan and close the bread maker's lid.

4. Place each dough on the lightly floured surface. Press each dough with your palm and flatten it into around 1 cm thick round disc. Roll the dough tightly in "Swiss Roll" style and pinch the seams and shape each dough into oval shape.

5. Place the doughs onto a lightly buttered baking tray (I had it lined with aluminium foil) with each dough separating at least 1 inch from each other. Cover it loosely with a wet cloth or cling wrap to avoid more moisture escape from the doughs. Let them rest for 30 minutes.

6. While waiting for the doughs to proof, prepare the filling by mixing the butter, garlic and parsley. Prepare ahead by bringing the butter down to room temperature for easier mixing.

7. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

8. Remove cloth or cling wrap and brush the doughs with egg wash. Slit each dough lengthwise and scoop in the fillings in between the slits. Make the slit deeper but not cutting it through as I find my slit not deep enough causing the fillings to pour out during baking.

9. Bake it for 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on what type of oven you are using, I baked them by placing the baking tray in the middle rack for the first 15 min and then moved it to the upper rack for 7-10 min to bring out the bread colour to my preference.

10. Remove from oven and cool the buns on a wire rack.

Recipe referencing to Happy Home Baking blog

Outcome:

The smell is really strong (thanks to the garlic) and tempting. I had to refrain myself from biting into it after freshly removed from the oven. The taste is very buttery and the bread texture is very soft and airy. Due to the overflown of butter to the base of the bread during baking, it is a bit oily. I have to use kitchen paper to absorb some of the oil away. Nevertheless, it is still very tasty. I do not think it will last until tomorrow morning for my breakfast as I have planned earlier. Sigh...:)