Yule Log

We had a few 'firsts' this Christmas: I made my first ever gingerbread house from scratch (with the help of the whole family for the decoration); I made my first and second yule logs (one for us and one for granny's family); Y drove the longest distance ever on Christmas day (from London to Northampton; then to Nottingham; then to Grimsby; then back to Nottingham; then from one side of Nottingham to the other side of Nottingham; then all the way back to London); we had the traditional Christmas dinner in a Chinese buffet house... In short, it's been a very busy, food-filled Christmas with family and friends. But it's been a very good one too.

Ok. Back to the yule logs. Compared to the gingerbread house, it was a breeze to make the two yule logs. The only problem with the yule logs was, in order to create the wood-like texture, I applied a fair amount of chocolate icing to the Swiss roll, which made the whole cake a little too sweet. That is, despite my effort in swapping the chocolate-icing filling to chestnut puree and whipped cream. Well, a lesson learnt, I suppose.



Serves 6-8

Ingredients


For the chestnut puree

1. 500g cooked chestnut
2. 300ml water
3. 80g sugar
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Swiss Roll

1. 6 large eggs, separated
2. 120g + 60g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
3. 50g cocoa powder
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 150ml whipped cream

For the chocolate icing

1. 130g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
2. 170g unsalted buttter
3. 2 tsp milk
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 190g icing sugar

Method

1. Make the chestnut puree by boiling chestnut, sugar and water in a pan. Bring to the boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Take out the chestnuts but reserving the liquid. Whizz the chestnuts in a food processor to the desired consistency by adding the liquid gradually. You may not need all the liquid. Leave to cool completely.
2. Make the Swiss Roll by preheating the oven to 180c. Grease and line a Swiss Roll tin with baking parchment. In a bowl, use an electric mixer to mix egg yolks with 120g sugar on high speed until thick and pale. This takes about 4-5 minutes. Then add in the cocoa and vanilla extract and mix lightly until just combined. In another bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks and add 60g sugar in 3 additions until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the yolks lightly until just combined. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 13-15 minutes. Turn out the cake onto a parchment paper dusted with sugar and remove the parchment paper that is attaching to the cake. Trim the edges. Let it cool a little. Meanwhile, get ready the whipped cream. Spread thinly the chestnut puree on the cake and follow by whipped cream. Carefully roll up the cake tightly.
3. Make the chocolate icing by melting chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Let cool slightly. In another bowl, beat butter, milk vanilla and icing sugar until smooth and then add in the melted chocolate. Beat until smooth.
4. Ice the Swiss Roll with the chocolate icing. Use a cake spatula to create wood markings and a toothpick/skewer to create tree rings on each end. Decorate with sugar canes and holly leaves made with fondant icing.
   

Glutinous Rice Ball with Peanut and Coconut Filling

To Pecky

One of the highlights of my trip to Hong Kong was to learn how to make these Law Mai Chis (Glutinous Rice Ball). These are soft, squidgy rice balls usually filled with either peanut and coconut or black sesame paste. My friend was kind enough to ask her relatives, who have been making this for years to sell at their shop, to show me how they make it. Of course I will not divulge their secret recipe, but I have included here my adapted recipe and my take at it...

Makes 12

Ingredients

1. 100g + 40g sugar
2. 150g dessicated coconut
3. 270g peanuts
4. 150g glutinous rice flour, plus more to dust the hands and work surface
5. 120ml coconut cream
6. 60ml water
   

Method

• Roast the peanuts in the oven until golden brown. Take out to cool.
• In the food processor, whizz 100g sugar, dessicated coconut and peanuts together until they resemble breadcrumbs. Set aside in a bowl.
• In another bowl, mix glutinous rice flour, 40g sugar, coconut cream and water together thoroughly. It should be a smooth paste with no lumps of flour.
• Pour the dough into an oiled shallow dish and steam for 20 minutes. Check if the dough is cooked by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean, the dough is cooked.
• Let the dough cool a little until it is not too hot to handle. Dust your hands and work surface with glutinous rice flour. Divide the dough into 12 portions.
• Use your palm or a rolling pin to press down each portion of the dough until about 3-4mm thick. Put in the centre a tablespoon of the coconut and peanut filling and use your fingertips to pinch the edges together and roll with your hands to form a ball.
• Dust the ball with glutinous rice flour/dessicated coconut. Serve and eat within 2 days.

ChocoNut Cookies in a Jar

The last 10 weeks went past like a swirlwind. So many things happened: the Exam, the loss of a friend, my mom's eye operation, the trip to HK, Y's sis' wedding, meeting with family and friends, Christmas preparation, snowman building... ...

This Christmas, we are giving these pretty filled jars (one muffin mix, one cookie mix) to Y's 2 cousins as Christmas presents. Since they are both going to uni soon, we hope that they would enjoy cooking and baking for themselves, their family and friends.

Preparation

• A 1L glass jar with lid. I use Kilner jars here; but on hindsight, I should have probably used a taller glass jar so that the layering effects are more visible.
• Ribbons to decorate and a tag to write baking instructions and greetings.

Ingredients to be put in the jar

• 110g plain flour
• 1/4 ts baking powder
• 1/4 ts bicarb of soda
• a pinch of salt
• 75g light brown sugar
• 75g caster sugar
• 70g rolled oats
• 130 m&ms and chocolate chips
• 100g pistachio nuts (or any other nuts you prefer)

Additional ingredients

• 125g melted butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 ts vanilla extract

Method

1. Put flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl. Pour them into the glass jar carefully. Top with brown sugar, caster sugar, then oats, then m&ms and chocolate chips, and finally nuts. It is important to put things in this order if you don't want seepage of ingredients that muddles the layering effect.
2. In the tag, write down the instructions as follows: 'Preheat oven to 190c. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Tip the ingredients into a large bowl. Add butter, egg and vanilla. Stir until well combined. Shape the dough into balls and place on baking trays approximately 5cm apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned but still a little soft in the middle. Turn the cookies to a wire rack to cool.'

Passionfruit sponge cake with lime meringue fingers, mickey and minnie and with lots of love...

To Y and our parents





Since 4 years ago, this day took a very special place in my heart. I remembered reading a Christian book on the subject of love and relationships many years ago, and one quote particularly struck me: 'If that person is your true love, he/she makes you a better person.' Until I met Y, I couldn't comprehend its true meaning . If I can make a lame analogy, true love to me is like having a duvet surrounding you: it is not something fancy, but it's comfy and warm (without suffocating you). You can live without a duvet; but if you have it, it feels so right and you feel better off with it...

So thank you Y for the many many happy days we have had and are going to have (and cookbooks and bakewares and handbags and clothes and skincare...). I realise I also have to thank our parents for accomodating and sacrificing a lot for us just because they love us. Thank you, parents! We love you!

This cake is again tailor-made. Y loves sponge, hence the sponge; he loves passionfruit, hence the passionfruit curd sandwiched in the middle; he loves meringues and lime, so I improvised and made lime meringue fingers to surround the cake. And lastly, mickey mouse and minnie mouse because we both love them!

P.S. We ate the cake just now and it was gorgeous. This is by far the most satisfied cake I have created so far. The combination of the slightly tangy but fragrant passionfruit pairs very well with the aromatic and crunchy lime meringue. I love it!

Serves 6

For passionfruit filling: (adapted from the passionfruit curd from How to be a domestic goddess by Nigella Lawson)

1. 5 passionfruit
2. 1 egg + 1 yolk
3. 75g caster sugar
4. 50g unsalted butter

• Scoop out the flesh of 5 passionfruit and blitz in a food processor. Then use a sieve to filter away the seeds. Keep the juice.
• Beat the egg, the yolk and the sugar together.
• Melt the butter in a heavy based pan using a low heat, and when fully melted, stir in the juice and sugar-egg mixture. Keep stirring and keep an eye on the heat. If you think it's going to curdle, take the pan off the heat for a while. You will see the mixture thickens, keep stirring until the mixture is as thick as hollandaise.
• If you want the curd to have some seeds in it, scoop in an extra passionfruit (both pulp and seeds) into the curd and mix lightly.
• Pour into a sterilised jar and cool. Can keep in the fridge for a few days, so you can do this in advance.

For sponge: (this is a typical victoria sponge recipe: feel free to use any sponge batter)

1. 175g self-raising flour
2. 1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
3. 3 eggs
4. 175g margarine
5. 150g sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
6. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Pre-heat oven to 180c.
• Sift the flour and baking powder together.
• Add all other ingredients and use a whisk to combine the ingredients together. It should be a rather stiff batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between 2 8inch round tins (lined with baking parchment), and use a spatula to level it out.
• Bake in oven for 30 mins.
• Take out the tins from oven and left to cool in their tins for 5 mins. Then peel off the parchment and let it cool for a further 15 minutes.
• If the sponge is slightly domed (i.e. not level top), use a cake leveller or serrated knife to even it out. You now have 2 sponge layers ready to be sandwiched.

For lime meringue fingers:

1. 2 egg whites
2. 100g caster sugar
3. zest of a lime
4. green colouring

• Preheat oven to 150c.
• Place the whites in a large bowl. Use an electric whisk on a low speed to whisk the whites until they are foamy.
• Switch to medium speed and continue whisking for about 1 minute.
• Turn to high speed and add sugar gradually to the whites. Stop when you have a stiff and glossy mixture.
• Gently fold in the food colouring and lime zest.
• Use a piping bag with a round tip, to pipe strips of meringue on a lined baking sheet. Allow about 2 cm gap between each each strip. I piped about 25 strips. The length of the strip really depends on the height of the sponge (ideally it should be 1-2 cm higher than the sponge), and in my case, the strips are about 8 cm tall.
• Pop them in the oven and turn the heat down to 140c immediately and bake for 20 mins.
• Take it out to cool thoroughly. When they are cool, separate them from the baking sheet carefully.

For buttercream icing: (adapted from Wilton's buttercream icing)

1. 110g solid vegetable shortening (I used Cookeen)
2. 110g butter, softened
3. 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract (you can use any flavour extract, but make sure it's clear in colour, otherwise the icing will be tainted)
4. 500g icing sugar
5. 2 tablespoons milk
6. Colourings

• Cut the shortening and butter into smallish cubes, and use an electric mixer to beat thoroughly.
• Add in the almond extract and a little bit of the milk and continue beating.
• Add in the icing sugar, a little at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl.
• If it is too dry, add in a little of the milk. If it is too wet, add icing sugar. You should beat until the icing is mixed thoroughly.
• Once you make the buttercream icing, cover it with a moist cloth/kitchen paper and store in the fridge for a few days until you need them. If you do make them in advance, make sure you beat it again before you want to use it.
• To use the buttercream to draw/write: I used a method called 'frozen buttercream transfer'. First, use a pencil to trace the drawing on a parchment paper. E.g. the mickey and minnie were from our tee-shirts, so I used a pencil to trace out the patterns on the tee-shirts over a parchment paper. Second, you don't want to eat the pencil marks so you will have to ice on the other side of the paper. In fact, since the icing will be flipped over onto the cake, the image will be reversed. So apply icing on the un-penciled side of the parchment paper will also help preventing this. Third, get ready the different colour icing and use black buttercream (remember to use a very small tip) to trace out the outline first. Then fill the rest with different colours of buttercream. Fourth, place the parchment into the freezer for about 45 minutes. Don't put it for over an hour though. Fifth, carefully place the parchment (with icing side down) onto the cake and cafefully peel away the parchment. There is now a picture on the cake!
  

Logistics and assembly:

1. This is a cake involving many various things but in fact many things can be prepared in advance: the passionfruit curd can keep easily for 1 week in a sterilised jar; the meringue can keep for a week if placed in an airtight container; even the sponge you can make ahead and put in the freezer and thaw when you need them. The buttercream icing can be made in advance too, but the colours and the frozen butter cream transfer method should be done on the day.
2. To assemble, place one layer of sponge on a cake stand/plate, then spread the passionfruit curd generously on it. Put the second layer of sponge on top. Then spread a thin layer of whipped cream on the top of the cake and dot whipped cream to the sides of the cake (this act as a glue to the meringue fingers). Take out the frozen buttercream icing from the freezer and carefully flip it over on the cake. Lastly, arrange the meringue fingers around the cake.

Icecream Cake

To the glorious British summer


There is no better way to end a summer barbie than having something really cold to alleviate the heat from the sun and the barbie grill. I came up with the idea of making an icecream cake when we had our barbecue 2 weeks ago. It had to be a cake because we had a birthday guest. The icecream cake looked okay, but I made 2 serious misjudgments: (1) I thought it would save effort and time in making an icecream cake rather than baking a proper cake. It turned out to be a 4 hour expedition, waiting for each layer to set while trying to be as swift as possible (as we all know we can't mess with icecream too much or else it will melt). (2) I put digestive biscuit layers in between the icecream layers. The result was a rock-hard-impossible-to-cut icecream cake. In the end, we had to set it aside to let it warm up a little bit and got Y's father to use a Chinese cleaver to forcibly chop it up. Imagine this elegant looking cake being chopped up by a Chinese cleaver! What a brutal crossover! So the following recipe is adapted and the only digestive layer will be the base and this should also considerably shorten the preparation time.

Ingredients:

1. a tub (500ml) Strawberry icecream
2. a tub (500ml) Chocolate icecream
3. 2 tubs (500ml) Vanilla icecream
4. 120g digestive biscuits
5. 50g melted butter

Method:

• Line a 8' inch springform tin with clingfilm. Cover both the base and the sides.
• Put the biscuits into a plastic bag, tie a knot and use a rolling pin to bash up the biscuits until they resemble fine dust. Combine the dust with melted butter thoroughly and put the mixture onto the base of the tin. Use a spoon or the palm of your hand to press it down to form a base and put it in the fridge to set for 1 hour.
• Then take out a tub of chocolate icecream and cut out big pieces of icecream to put onto the base. Use a spoon or your fingers to squidge small pieces of icecream to fill the gaps and make sure an even layer is formed. Quickly put it back to the freezer to set for 1 hour.
• Do the second layer by putting strawberry icecream on top of the chocolate icecream layer, making sure this layer is more or less as thick as the chocolate icecream layer. Again, put it back to the freezer to set.
• Do the third layer by putting vanilla icecream. Again, set for 1 hour.
• Release the springform tin and take away the base of the tin by sliding the cake on one plate. Carefully place another plate on top of the cake and turn the cake upside down so that you can remove the clingfilm. Then, place the card board (or your serving plate) on the top and turn the cake upside around again. By now, the cake should be sitting happily on its own bottom. If it is starting to melt, put it back to the freezer for about 15 minutes.
• Finally, cut thick strips from the vanilla icecream to cover the sides and the top as if you were icing the cake. Use a palette knife to smooth the surface and put it back to the fridge to set for 3 hours.
• 15 minutes before serving, put the icecream cake in the fridge for 15 mins to soften a little. Slice the cake with a knife that has just been run over hot water.

Chocolate Fondant

I am not a chocolate person and I have always felt that I am the only person on this planet who doubt the theraputic effects of chocolate. Until now that is. This beautiful, rich and very chocolatey pudding has managed to bring some warmth to this gloomy day. Since this one is an effective remedy to nearly all kinds of gloominess, I suggest (and this is what I have done here) making some to be put into the freezer, so that this chocolate fondant can come to your rescue in 12 minutes...

Makes 6 7cm diameter(120ml) round ramekins

Ingredients:

1. 100g dark choclate (again, Valrhona is the best for the job), roughly chopped
2. 100g butter, roughly diced
3. 60g caster sugar
4. 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
5. 50g plain flour
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. 20g butter, melted, for brushing
8. cocoa powder, for coating
9. icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

• Prepare the ramekins by brushing melted butter all over the inside of the ramekins. Then add some cocoa powder into a ramekin and swirl the ramekin so that the cocoa coats the inside of the ramekin. Tap off excess cocoa. Repeat until all ramekins are coated with cocoa (Note: I used Gu dessert glass ramekins - 7cm in diameter and can hold 120ml of liquid. You can use ramekins of other sizes, but the cooking time has to be adjusted.)
• Put inside a bowl the chocolate pieces and the diced butter and place it over a pan of simmering water, make sure the water is not touching the base of the bowl. Remove the bowl once the butter and chocolate are fully melted. Take out and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
• While the chocolate and butter is melting, place sugar, eggs, yolks and vanilla extract in a large bowl and use an electric whisk (on a high speed) to whisk until the mixture has doubled in volume and leaves a trail like a piece of ribbon.
• Use one hand to pour the chocolate and butter mixture slowly while using the other hand (with a spatula) to fold in the mixture carefully. Sift flour over the mixture and fold again until fully combined. The mixture should resemble a loose cake batter.
• Divide the mixture between the 6 ramekins (about 80% full). Bake in a preheated oven of 200c for 9-10 minutes.
• If you are freezing them, cover each with clingfilm and keep in the freezer. When you need them, pre-heat the oven to 200c for 10 minutes and bake for 12 minutes.
• The puddings should have risen but without any cracks (cracks indicate over-baking and there will be no melting chocolate centre). Leave to cool for 1 minute. Slid a palette knife or a skewer around the edges so that the fondant can be turn out easily. Serve immediately with vanilla icecream.

Strawberry Charlotte with Mixed Fruits

To Y's Por Por



I have now become the official cake provider to Y's family. Today is the birthday of Y's granny (por por). Por por is the most bubbly, cheerful and welcoming elderly person I have ever met: she likes going out; she likes joking and she likes teasing Y and me every time we visit her! I came up with the idea of making a charlotte because I felt this is the sunniest cake to make for the sunniest granny! This cake, was made on behalf of all her 7 children, hence the word 'mom' on the cake.

As you can see, the ladyfingers (Savoiardi) around the rim look very untidy. I have already tried my best but ladyfingers are delicate little babies that are extremely difficult to make. Next time I think I would use shop bought ones...

(P.S. regarding the last post, I realise one comment has gone missing after I moderated it...dunno why...)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
For the ladyfinger biscuits

1. 4 eggs, separated
2. 50g + 50g caster sugar
3. 60g plain flour
4. 40g cornflour

For the sponge

1. 175g margarine (I used Stork)
2. 175g caster sugar
3. 175g self-raising flour
4. 3 eggs, beaten
5. 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the strawberry mousse

1. 330g strawberries
2. 4 tablespoons sugar
3. 12g gelatine leaves
4. 300g double cream
5. 2 tablespoons icing sugar

Method:

• For this cake, you will need a 8' inch springform cake tin and two 7' inch cake tins.
• To make the ladyfingers: Preheat the oven to 200c and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. You should draw lines on the other side of the parchment paper so that you can pipe uniform ladyfingers (about 4 inch long) easily. Use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 50g of sugar until thick and pale yellow in a mixer bowl(about 5 minutes). Transfer the egg yolks and sugar mixture to another bowl and sieve plain flour and cornflour onto the mixture. Do not fold at this stage. Wash the mixer bowl and beaters thoroughly. Then put in the egg whites in the clean, dry mixer bowl and whip on low speed setting until foamy. Use a medium-high setting to whip the whites while add in the remaining 50g of sugar in 3 additions. Whip until stiff peaks form. Pour the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture, again in 3 additions while folding very lightly. Stop when the batter is just incorporated. DO NOT OVER-FOLD. Put the batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter onto the parchment. Bake for 10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are slightly browned. Take out the baking trays and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the ladyfingers from the parchment while they are still warm. Let them cool completely on a baking tray.
• To make the sponge: Preheat oven to 180c. Line 2 7 inch cake tins and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a large bowl, put in margarine, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder and use a hand whisk until all ingredients are incorporated. Pour the batter into the 2 tins, spreading evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out the cakes carefully and use a cake leveler or a serrated knife to trim the top of the sponge slices.
• To make the strawberry mousse: Soak the gelatine leaf in some cold water for 5 minutes. Whizz the strawberries in a food processor until it becomes puree. In a pan on medium heat, put in the puree and the sugar and let it come to a boil. Remove from heat and add in the softened gelatine (drain the gelatine and discard the water). Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Leave aside to cool. In another bowl, whip the doublecream and icing sugar until peaks form. Fold the cooled puree mixture into the doublecream.
• To assemble the cake: Put an 8' inch springform tin (just the ring, not the base) on a cardboard circle. Line parchment paper around the ring (I stapled the ends of parchment paper so that they form a circle around the cake ring). Then, line the ladyfingers carefully around the cake ring. Place one layer of the sponge cake at the bottom, then pour in 1/2 or 2/3 of the strawberry mousse. Put the cake in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Take out and put on a second layer of sponge cake. Then pour another layer of strawberry mousse on top (you may want to pour all in, but I prefer a thinner layer of mousse on top). Again, put in the fridge to set. Remove the springform ring carefully while the parchment is still holding the cake. Take a big ribbon to tie around the cake while you remove the parchment. Decorate the cake with fruits.

Birthday brownies

To the July birthday stars: Alice, Christine, Eric, Jenny, Judy, Sze Wing and Pik To

Happy birthday! With this post you can claim a dozen of brownies from me if you drop by London...hehe...

Adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients:

1. 200g dark chocolate (I used Valrhona 68% dark chocolate)
2. 175g unsalted butter
3. 300g caster sugar
4. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
5. 120g plain flour
6. 3 large eggs

Method:

• Preheat oven to 170c and place a piece of parchment paper on the 33 x 23 x 5 cm baking tray. Grease the sides of the tray.
• Roughly chop the chocolate and the butter and put in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (be careful: don't let the base of the bowl touch the water) until fully melted. Remove the bowl and let cool.
• Add sugar to the chocolate mixture and stir well.
• Sieve in flour and fold until fully incorporated.
• Finally fold in all the eggs and the vanilla mixture.
• Pour the brownie mixture on the prepared baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. By then, the top should set but the centre is still soft.
• Take the whole tray out to cool. Cut into 12 slices when the brownie are still warm. When the brownies are completely cooled, dust with icing sugar to decorate.

Labour of Love

I have to admit I don't cook much these days: Y's father is back so is his good food! yoohoo! So, this time I don't have a recipe to share but I can share with you a story of Y and his mistresses. A few months ago, Y has started seeing his mistresses. First thing in the morning he goes out to visit them; first thing when he comes back from work he visits them...and sometimes in the weekend, he visits them once every 2 hours!!! You can see how much TLC (tender loving care) he has put in these beauties... So let me introduce to you the MISTRESSES...

Tomatoes. His favourite mistress, obviously... Not quite ready to eat yet, but seeing them grow in size makes Y very happy. 'Look, it has grown larger today!'

Potatoes. You can just see the green shoots of the potatoes. We tried digging the spuds out last month, but they were like so tiny to be eaten... So we will wait until September.

Spring onions. Still small but they proved very handy two days ago when Y's father forgot to buy spring onions for the lobster noodle...

Sage and rosemary. Still at their baby stages, takes forever to grow...

Basil. Their tender fragrant leaves are sooooo much better than the shop-bought basil plant!

Salad leaves. It was the quickest to grow among all plants we had... We just had 3 little pots, so there was never enough to make a salad...well but as garnish they do their job properly. Sadly they have flowered and look pretty dull now. This is a picture taken when they were first picked...

Golden Prawns

To Y who dubbed this as his no.1 favourite dish

The person who invented this dish is a genius - there is no higher cholesterol food than this (LOL!) But yet, the tastiness of this far surpasses any fear for the cholesterol level, and let's be frank, we are not having this every week or even every month, so I don't think it's gonna harm our health as such.

Ingredients:

1. 4 very big king prawns
2. 3 salted duck egg yolks
3. 1 tablespoon xiaoshing wine
4. 1 teaspoon salt plus more for washing the prawns
5. 2 + 2 tablespoons oil
6. Chopped coriander/spring onion, to garnish

Method:

• Separate 3 salted duck eggs into whites and yolks. Place the yolks on a shallow dish and steam for about 15 minutes or until fully cooked. Mash the yolks with a fork and leave to cool. The whites can be used in other dishes or add to Chinese soups to enhance flavour.
• Devein and trim the prawns while keeping the shells intact. Put the prawns under running tap while take some salt in your hand to 'wash' the prawns. Drain and put in a dish. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt to marinate the prawns for 10 minutes.
• In a hot wok/frying pan, use 2 tablespoons of oil to fry the prawns until they are 80% cooked. Take out the prawns and clean the wok/frying pan.
• Again, heat up the wok/frying pan and put in 2 tablespoons of oil. Add in the mashed yolks and use a spatula to stir diligently. When the mashed yolks are foaming, add in the prawns and stir for about 1 minute. Then, add wine (pour it around the rim of the wok/frying pan) and stir for another 1 minute. Plate up and garnish with coriander/spring onion.
  

Mini Peach cakes

To Enoch

This, when eaten cold, reminds me of Sara Lee frozen pound cake. I had fond memories of eating Sara Lee pound cake for breakfast when I was little... I am sure my brother has this kind of nostalgia too - he buys Sara Lee for breakfast whenever my parents are holidaying!

Makes 15

Ingredients:

1. 70g plain flour
2. 30g cornflour
3. 4 eggs, separated
4. 70g +40g sugar
5. 50g butter, at room temperature
6. 140g double cream
7. 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
8. zest from 1 lemon
9. peach slices
10. apricot jam to glaze

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180c.
• Mix plain flour and cornflour and sieve for 3 times. Set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk the 4 egg yolks and 70g of sugar together until pale and thick.
• Add butter to the bowl and whisk well.
• Microwave the doublecream for 20 seconds and add it into the bowl together with lemon juice and zest.
• In a separate bowl (make sure it's squeaky clean), whisk the 4 egg whites and 40g of sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Fold in the beaten whites with the yolks and flour mixtures. Fold lightly until just combined.
• Fill fairy cake cases with the mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Take out the cakes to cool on wire rack.
• In the meantime, place a slice of peach on top and brush apricot jam to glaze.

Insalata Caprese - tomato, basil and mozzarella salad

Recently, I have fallen in love with Italian food (thanks to my favourite chef Gorgio Locatelli) and have almost cooked more Italian food than Chinese food! This salad, in my humble opinion, symbolises Italian food - simple ingredients simply prepared/cooked to let the quality of the ingredients shine through the dish. When you come to think of it, the colours of this salad actually resemble colours of the Italian flag!

Since the greatness of this dish depends on how good the ingredients you can get, I would suggest you buy the best possible ingredients you can source. For extra virgin olive oil, I used a Liguria DOP extra virgin olive oil. For balsamic vinegar, I heeded Locatelli's suggestion and looked up the description and list of ingredients on all the vinegar bottles to search for words 'must of grape' and 'aged in wooden barrels' and avoid words like 'caramel' or 'flavourings'. In the end, I bought one which also happened to be the most expensive one in the local Tesco (about £10). A vinegar that costed £10 is admittedly costly, but a little goes a long way. For tomatoes, I bought British Vittoria cherry tomatoes (on the vine) which has an intensely sweet flavour. I took them out of the fridge for 1 hour to get the chill off them and even put them under the sun for half an hour, which according to Nigella Lawson the Domestic Goddess, makes the tomatoes taste more tomatoey.

Serves 1 greedy person or 2 not-so-greedy ppl with substantial main course to follow

Ingredients:

1. About 12 cherry tomatoes
2. 1/2 ball of mozzarella (about 60g)
3. About 15 young basil leaves
4. Extra virgin olive oil
5. Balsamic vinegar
6. Salt
7. Black pepper

Method:

• Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves and tear the mozzarella into smallish pieces.
• Arrange basil leaves, mozzarella and tomatoes on a plate and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and season with salt and freshly grinded black pepper. Serve immediately.
  

Mushroom and lemon pasta

Ok, this may not be authentic Italian but this is so refreshingly good, which makes it ideal for a summer alfresco lunch in the garden. Sunny British summer days are short-lived, but eating this, whatever the weather, brings sunshine to me. As a matter of fact, I have been eating this for 2 consecutive lunches and I think I can go on eating this for the rest of the week...

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1. 200g penne (or any dried pasta)
2. 40g (about 2 heaped tablespoons) grated Grana Padano cheese/Parmigiano Reggiano/Parmesan cheese
3. 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
4. 1 teaspoon lemon zest
5. 30g butter
6. 100g mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms, but any variety would be fine)

Method:

• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to packet instructions.
• Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms; grate zest; juice the lemon and grate the cheese.
• In a small shallow pan, melt 2/3 of the butter on medium heat and saute the mushrooms. When the mushroom is cooked, add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add in the remaining butter together with lemon juice and lemon zest and cook for 1 minute.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of pasta water.
• Add the pasta to the mushrooms. Then, put in half of the grated cheese and stir through. If the pasta looks dry, add in the pasta water.
• Serve the pasta sprinkled with the remaining half of the grated cheese.

Herby Breaded Brill

Hooray! Exam's over and I am as free as a bird again! Sorry for not posting for so long: I got Y to confiscate my laptop and lock it somewhere so that I was prevented from spending hours online without getting any study done! When I get older, I tend to get more freaked out at exams... I now honestly don't know how I had coped with the A-levels in Hong Kong many many years ago. This time round, it was just some exams for leisure study but the pressure blew me off out of the roof! ARGH... Anyways, I am free again and I can't wait to get back to the kitchen again!

I made this herby breaded brill a while ago with the recipe from the great Marco Pierre White on the Knorr website... I basically followed his recipe except that I used brill instead of plaice, dill instead of parsley and em... Marigold Bouillon Powder instead of Knorr's stock granules! (sorry Knorr, but I do swear by your excellent chicken stock pot! =p). Lovely to serve these with some unorthodox mushy peas (i.e. mashed frozen peas with butter).

Serves 2 very greedy people

Ingredients:

1. 2 fillets from 1 brill
2. 5 tablespoons of plain flour
3. 1 tablespoon of Marigold Bouillon Powder (or any stock granules)
4. 2-3 eggs
5. 100g of breadcrumbs
6. A small bunch of dill
7. Vegetable oil
8. 1 lemon

Method:

1. Remove the skin from the brill fillets. Clean and wipe dry. Cut into 6 big pieces.
2. Place flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs respectively into 3 separate bowls.
3. Season the bowl of flour with 1 tablespoon of Marigold Bouillon Powder.
4. Add finely chopped dill to the bowl of breadcrumbs and mix them together.
5. Dip a piece of fish with flour, then egg wash and finally coat them in breadcrumbs. Do it with every piece of fish.
6. Pour some oil into a frying pan. The oil should be enough to coat the frying pan and has about 0.5 cm depth.
7. When the oil is hot, shallow fry the fish. Cook them on both sides until golden brown.
8. Place them on kitchen towel to soak excess oil.
9. Serve with lemon wedges and some mushy peas on the side.

Seafood Risotto

To Simmy the Miss Sunshine, with whom I enjoyed many Italian lunches in Hong Kong

I have been buying lots of cookery books since I came here. The reason is simple: if there is one thing that is cheap in the UK, it is books. I often find it too hard to resist: a 600+ pages cookery book costs just 15 quid (with free delivery) on Amazon uk. (In Hong Kong, the very same book can cost you HKD500. No kidding.) To me, a good cookery book has 3 criteria: (i) the recipes have to be do-able in the domestic kitchen; (ii) the recipes have to be clear, reliable and most importantly taste good; and (iii) you can feel the author's passion for food. My latest treasure is Giorgio Locatelli's Made in Italy. I have yet the opportunity to eat in his restaurant, but through his book, I can feel his passion for Italian food. The following is adapted from his prawn risotto recipe. I am sure if you try this, you will fall in love with his food as much as I am too!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1. Heads and shells from 4 tiger prawns
2. Tentacles from 2 squid
3. 1 medium-sized onion
4. 1 stick of celery
5. 1 spring onion
6. 3 peppercorns
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 1 teaspoon tomato paste
9. 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
10. 2 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
11. 1 tablespoon olive oil
12. 75ml white wine
13. 1 litre water
14. 25g butter
15. 1 small onion, finely chopped
16. 200g arborio rice
17. 60ml white wine
18. juice of 1/4 lemon
19. 1 1/2 teaspoon of tomato paste
20. 40g cold butter, diced
21. 4 tiger prawns
22. 2 squid
23. 4 scallops
24. 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
25. 25g butter
26. Salt and peper to taste
27. Flat leafed parsley to garnish

Method:

• Remove the heads and shells of the prawns. De-vein them. Reserve the heads and shells to make the stock.
• Remove the tenacles from the squid and remove the membrane inside the tube. Reserve the tenacles for stock. Cut the tube to rings.
• Roughly chop all the vegetables (items 3-5) and the garlic (item 10).
• Soak the roughly chopped garlic (item 10) into 1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (item 9) in a small bowl for at least 20 minutes.
• To make the stock, heat 1 tablespoon of oil (item 11) in a pan. Take the chopped garlic out of the olive oil and add to the pan. Reserve the garlic oil. Add all the vegetables, peppercorns and the bayleaf (items 3-7) into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute, take care not to allow them to colour. Then add in the prawn heads and shells and squid tentacles. Use a wooden spoon to crush them to release the juices.
• Cook for 1 minute and add the white wine (item 13). Let it cook for about 3 minutes to evaporate.
• Add the tomato paste (item 8) and 1 litre of water (item 14). Bring it to the boil and the turn down the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
• Strain the stock and place it in a clean pan and have it simmer (using the lowest heat) while you are making the risotto.
• To make the risotto, melt the butter (item 14) in a heavy based pan and add the onion (item 15). Cook gently until the onion is softened but not coloured.
• Add the rice (item 16) and stir around to coat in the butter and toast the grains until they are warm.
• Add in the white wine (item 17) and let it evaporate completely.
• Start adding the first ladle of stock (for the first ladle, also add the tomato paste (item 19)) to the rice. Use a wooden spoon to stir and scrape the bottom of the pan as you do so. When each ladleful of stock has almost evaporated, add the next ladleful. Keep stirring from time to time. The rice should be cooked in about 14 minutes (starting from the time you add the first ladleful of stock). Note: you may not need to add all the stock in.
• In the meantime, cook the seafood (items 21-23) with butter and garlic (items 24-25) in another pan. Season to taste.
• When the rice is al dente, add the garlic oil (item 9) and juice of 1/4 lemon (item 18) to the risotto. Season to taste.
• Stir in the cooked seafood.
• Take off the heat and let the risotto rest for a minute.
• Then, for the final step, add in cold cubes of butter (item 20) to the risotto and use a wooden spoon to beat vigorously. Check the consistency of the risotto: it should be creamy and rich. If the risotto is too firm, beat in more hot stock.
• Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
  

Drunken Chicken

As I have said before, my granny made good food and one of her specialties was Drunken Chicken. This was one of the very few recipes that had been passed on to her daughter-in-law, i.e. my mother. I love the Drunken Chicken they made, but it was probably too alcoholic for others liking (the chicken is fully submerged in shaoxing wine for a few days). Therefore, I resorted to Annie Leong’s book again and this is allegedly Mrs. Tsang’s (the wife of Donald Tsang, HK’s Chief Executive) recipe. I mostly followed her recipe except that I didn’t use chicken stock; I used the water coming out from steaming the chicken instead (this to me is fresh chicken stock). The most challenging part of this dish is that you have to chop up the whole chicken into tidy pieces when serving!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1. 1 Chicken (about 1.5kg, preferably free range or organic)
2. 2 ginger slices
3. 2 spring onion
4. 2 tablespoons salt
5. 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
6. 600ml shaoxing wine
7. 700ml iced water
8. 3 tablespoons fish sauce
9. 1 tablespoon sugar
10. 1 tablespoon salt
11. 2 disposable ice cube bags (or ice cube trays)

Method:

• Clean the chicken and use kitchen towels to wipe dry inside out.
• Place the ginger and spring onion into the carcass (items 2-3).
• Pat the chicken with salt and shaoxing wine (items 4-5). Place in a deep dish and cover with clingfilm. Place in the fridge for 1 day.
• Fill 2 disposable ice cube bags/ ice cube trays with tap water and put them in the freezer overnight.
• The next day, make the soaking wine by placing shaoxing wine, iced water, fish sauce, sugar and salt in a large bowl (items 6-10). Place the soaking wine in the freezer for at least 3 hours until they are half frozen.
• Place the chicken (with the deep dish) in a steamer and steam for 45 minutes using high heat.
• When the chicken is cooked, take out the chicken quickly and put it in the bowl of half-frozen soaking wine sauce.
• In the meantime, pour out the water coming out from the chicken in the deep dish into a clean bowl. Quicky dip into the bowl the 2 ice-cube bags (There is no need to break open the bags. If using ice-cube trays, place the ice cubes in a plastic bag and tie). This is to immediately cool down the chicken water.
• When the chicken water is cool, pour them to join the chicken and the soaking wine.
• By this time, the chicken should have already cooled down. Gently take it out and cut them into half.
• Put the chicken back to the soaking wine for at least 1 day in the fridge.
• Chop them into pieces. Serve with some soaking wine.

Chinese Style Steak

To the beefeaters

In Chinese cooking, beef is often treated with bicarbonate of soda as tenderiser. This, according to many food critics, is a bad practice and should be banned because it alters the texture of the meat. Strangely as it sounds, I actually quite like the texture of tenderised beef in Chinese cooking! Put it in another way, no one would love rough textured beef slices that are barely chewable, right? You may then ask, why don't you use wagu beef or angus beef then? it will be tender and juicy without needing any tenderiser. Well yes, but if I have a piece of wagu beef or angus beef, I would simply sear it on the sides, season with salt and pepper (perhaps a dash of brandy while frying) and eat. I would not have it the Chinese way and put it in a stir fry coz I feel this isn't well use of the excellent quality beef.

I was over the moon when I read the Rice with Silky Egg and Beef recipe in Annie Leong's book. She includes a secret method of marinating beef from a well known chef. Ever since, I have adapted this method for all my Chinese beef dishes...

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1. 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
2. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3. 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
4. 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
5. 120ml water
6. 1 egg
7. 2 teaspoons cornstarch
8. 2 tablespoons oil
9. 300g rib eye beef
10. 1 medium sized white onion
11. 2 tablespoons oil
12. 1 tablespoon Worcester Sauce
13. 3 tablespoons ketchup
14. 1 tablespoon white vinegar
15. 2 tablespons sugar
16. 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
17. 2 tablespoons water

Method:

• Slice the beef thinly. The beef will absorb the marinade better if the beef is frozen and then half-thawed.
• Place the beef into a bowl and add soy sauce, sugar, shaoxing wine and bicarb of soda (item 1-4). Use a pair of chopsticks to stir the beef briskly in one direction for 3 minutes. You can see the beef slices start sticking to each other.
• Add in the water (item 5), little by little, and continue to stir until the beef slices absorbs all the water.
• Add in the egg and stir again for 3 minutes.
• Add in the cornstarch (item 7) and stir. Then also add in the oil (item 8) to coat the beef slices.
• Cover the bowl in clingfilm and put it back to the fridge to marinate for at least 24 hours.
• When ready to cook, cut the onion (item 10) into big slices.
• Prepare the sauce in a small bowl by mixing Worcester sauce, ketchup, vinegar and sugar (items 12-15) together.
• Turn on high heat to heat the wok until it is smoking.
• Pour in the oil (item 11) and toss the onion until slightly golden in colour.
• Take out the onion.
• In the same wok, put in the beef slices and toss until the beef slices are 70% done. Take out the beef slices.
• Then put in the sauce and the onion back to the wok and toss for about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the sauce accordingly.
• Put the beef slices back to the wok and toss until the beef is fully cooked.
• If you feel that the sauce isn't thick enough, dissolve the cornstarch (item 16) with cold water (item 17) and put into the wok to thicken the sauce.

Scones

Ok. I am going to give yet another simple recipe! I would love to make something grander, but I have been studying quite a lot lately *cough* and there have been quite a lot of chores to do (as Y's parents are away) etc etc. I am, for the first time since I got here, pressed for time.

Y loves scones. I made quite a few scones before, using Annie Leong's recipe, but he didn't raise his eyebrows. But this time, he liked them so much that he took 5 scones to work for his nibble! This is an Aussie recipe and how did they come up with lemonade in scone making I don't really know. But I guess the carbonated water in the lemonade helps to bring air in the scone hence making it lighter and fluffier... And there is no excuse not making these scones because you don't even need a measuring cup! The most difficult step is step 3, but I managed it with no problem and so should you!

Ingredients:

1. 1 part double cream
2. 1 part lemonade (I used Schweppes Original Lemonade, you can also use Sprite and 7-up)
3. 3 parts self-raising flour
4. sugar (optional)

Note: what I mean is you use the same bowl/cup/mug/glass to measure all ingredients.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180c.
• Mix doublecream and lemonade together.
• This is the most difficult step: DO NOT TRY TO TASTE THE DOUBLECREAM AND LEMONADE MIXTURE BECAUSE YOU WILL END UP DRINKING THEM ALL.
• Pour the doublecream and lemonade into the self-raising flour (and sugar, if using). Use a table knife to mix it very lightly. I basically just let them come together a bit without them really forming into a ball.
• Pour out the dough on a clean worktop and use a rolling pin (if you don't have a rolling pin, just use a beer bottle) to very lightly roll it to about 2.5 cm thickness. Remember don't press it down, because you will squeeze out the air. Just lightly roll it so the surface got evened out.
• Use a cookie cutter (if you don't have cookie cutter, just use a knife) to cut out the scones. Remember don't twist the cookie cutter when cutting out the scones, if you want to get a lovely crack on the sides (the lovely crack is later for you to cut up the scone easily and put in clotted cream and jam).
• You can brush some milk on top.
• Put in oven to bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
• Serve with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Presto Pesto Pasta

How can something be so simple but good? I had, even for a moment, forgotten this is a vegetarian dish!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1. A large bunch of basil leaves (about 50 leaves)
2. 3 tablespoon of pine nuts
3. 1 garlic clove
4. 4 tablespoons of parmasean cheese, chopped coarsely
5. olive oil
6. 200g dried pasta (I used my all-time favourite linguine)

Method:

• Toast the pine nuts briefly in the oven. Take out to cool.
• Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain.
• Put basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, paramsean cheese and some olive oil in a food processor to whizz. You may want to whizz for longer if you want a smoother texture.
• Stir the pesto sauce with pasta. Serve. Or, pour the pesto sauce into a glass jar and cover with a layer of olive oil. Seal and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Pistachio and Rose Meringues

Please bear with me while I am posting some more meringues! It was such a breeze to make but the result was deeply satisfying. This time, I added Y's no.1 favourite nut, pistachio and my favourite scent, rose to the meringue batter. According to Y, this is best eaten crumbled with pistachio gelato...

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1. 2 large egg whites
2. 100g caster sugar
3. 2 tablespoons finely processed pistachios
4. 3 drops rosewater
5. 3 dried rose buds
6. green food colouring (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 150c.
• Whisk the egg whites using an electric mixer on a low speed. Whisk until the whites are foamy, then switch the speed gradually to high and continue whisking the whites until stiff peaks form.
• Then add in the sugar gradually, one tablespoonful each time, into the whites until you have a glossy and stiff mixture. Add in rose water, pistchios and green food coloring (if using). Fold in lightly.
• On a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, spoon and shape the mixture to form 8 little meringues. Sprinkle dried rose petals on the meringues.
• Immediately, put them into oven and reduce the heat to 140c. Bake for 30 minutes.
  Turn off the heat in the oven and allow the meringue to dry out in the oven for a few hours or overnight.
  

Meringues, Meringues and More Meringues

I think the biggest realisation of living in the UK is that simplicity is a beauty in itself. I remember when I left Hong Kong, someone at work said to me, 'There is no way you can stand the boring life in the UK. You are definitely going back in a few years' time.' I have been here for about 8 months now and I am grateful that I enjoy my simple life here... Gone were the days I worked for 12 hours a day, gone were the days of unreasonable phonecalls from clients and gone were the days where I had to mind my every little step in the name of prudence...

To put forward my case that - simple is good, I offer you this simple but heavenly meringue with a crunchy shell and marshmallowly centre...

Serves 8

For Meringue Nests

Ingredients:

1. 2 large egg whites
2. 100g caster sugar
3. pink food colouring (optional)
   

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 150c.
• Whisk the egg whites using an electric mixer on a low speed. Whisk until the whites are foamy, then switch the speed gradually to high and continue whisking the whites until stiff peaks form.
• Then add in the sugar gradually, one tablespoonful each time, into the whites until you have a glossy and stiff mixture. Add in food coloring.
• On a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, spoon and shape the mixture to form 8 little nests.
• Immediately, put them into oven and reduce the heat to 140c. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Turn off the heat in the oven and allow the meringue to dry out in the oven for a few hours or overnight.

What to do with meringue:

1. Place Cadbury's Mini Eggs in the meringue (as pictured above).
2. Whip up some cream and mix it with the pulp of passionfruit/some raspberries and rest the mixture on the meringue.

3. Make Eton Mess by crumbling a meringue nest and mix it with strawberries and whipped cream and strawberry juice (by whizzing the strawberries in a food processor and sieve out the pulp and seeds). Or if you fancy a less known version of Eton Mess, mash up a banana with a few drops of lime juice and mess it up with cream and crumbled meringue...

Coconut and Pandan Pudding with Aduki Beans

This, I think, is the Chinese version of panna cotta. Strangely I've never got to like panna cotta, but I love this Chinese pud. Traditionally, it is made with yellow split peas ('ma dou')/aduki beans with coconut cream. I twisted it a little by adding pandan water, which complements coconut cream really well... Yum!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 35g Aduki beans
2. 60ml evaporated milk
3. 100g sugar
4. 130g coconut cream
5. 50g cornflour
6. 2 leaf gelatine
7. 3 pandan leaves
8. Water

Method:

• Soak the aduki beans for a few hours and boil them in water until soft. Drain.
• Cut the pandan leaves into small pieces and whizz them with some warm water in a food processor. Use a sieve to filter the pandan water into a bowl. Discard the leaves.
• Add warm water to the pandan water to make a total of 300ml of pandan water.
• In another bowl, soak the leaf gelatine with 100ml of cold water. When the gelatine leaves are softened, put the bowl over a pot of simmering water until the gelatine leaves are fully dissolved. Take out the bowl to let it cool a little.
• In another bowl, put in the coconut cream, evaporated milk and cornflour and mix well.
• In a pan over medium heat, dissolve sugar with pandan water.
• Then add in the cornflour mixture. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil. You will see the the mixture starts to thicken and turn gluey.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Add in the gelatine water and blend well. Also add in the aduki beans.
• Pour the mixture into ramekins. Let it cool completely and store in the fridge to set.

Grandma's Pork Chop

To my Granny in heaven

Last Wednesday was my granny's birthday. Although she has been in heaven for more than 4 years now, I still have vivid memories of her. People often say 'the responsibility of parents is to teach; the responsibility of grannies is to spoil'. How true. My granny had spoilt me in numerous ways, many of which were to do with her food. She was a superb cook and her specialities were too many to name... drunken chicken, smoked fish, Shanghai style wonton and black sesame sweet dumplings... If only I had picked up some cooking skills from her...

My father especially like my granny's pork chop, which was a regular on our dinner table. This recipe may not appeal to some, as it is so simply cooked with soy sauce. But the smell of it is so comforting and reminds me of nothing but home.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1. 2 pork chop
2. 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
3. 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
4. 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
5. 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
6. 1 tablespoon egg white
7. 2 teaspoon cornstarch
8. 100 ml water
9. 1 tablespoon oil
10. 2 garlic cloves
11. 1 spring onion, chopped roughly

Method:

• Use the back of the Chinese cleaver/meat hammer to pound the pork chop for at least 1 minute each side.
• Then in a bowl, place the pork chops with dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and shaoxing wine. Flip the sides of the pork chop to absorb the sauce. Next, add in water. Use a chopstick to stir the pork chops in the bowl so that they start absorbing water.
• Add in the egg white, again stir well with pork chops.
• Then, add the cornflour to coat the meat.
• Lastly, add oil and cover the pork chop in the fridge to marinate for at least 3 hours. Better still, leave them overnight.
• When ready to cook, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok in high heat and toss garlic and spring onion for 1 minute.
• Put in the pork chops to the wok, retain the marinades.
• Cook each side for about 5 minutes. When each side is browned, add in some water to ensure the meat is cooked through.
• When the pork chops are cooked, add in the marinade to the wok and bring to a boil. Serve.

Peanut Butter Cake with Caramelised Nuts

To the girl who believes in God's providence

This cake was created upon request by a very close girlfriend who wanted to make a birthday cake for her friend who likes peanut butter, chocolate and nuts. Hence I created this recipe and invited my girlfriend to make this together last Saturday. After taking in lessons for the failure from the first attempt, our second attempt turned out beautifully (or to be precise, I left my girlfriend to attempt for the second time herself while I made our seafood feast - so the cake pictured was solely her work!). This combination worked perfectly- a moist fluffy peanut butter cake covered with chocolate icing and topped with crunchy sugared nuts.

Serves 4-6

For the peanut butter cake

1. 115g unsalted butter
2. 100g peanut butter
3. 260g caster sugar
4. 2 eggs
5. 130g plain flour
6. 30g cornflour
7. 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8. a pinch of salt
9. 150ml milk
10. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate icing

1. 45g unsalted butter
2. 100g dark chocolate
3. 100g icing sugar
4. 2 teaspoons golden syrup
5. 75ml soured cream
6. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the caramelised nuts

1. 100g mixed nuts
2. 35g caster sugar
3. 10g water
4. 5g butter

Method:

• Grease two 6 inch round cake tins (with loose bottoms) and line with baking parchment.
• Preheat oven to 160c.
• Cream butter and peanut butter until well combined. Add in sugar and mix. Add one egg at a time and stir well after each addition. Add milk and vanilla extract and stir well.
• In another bowl, sieve in flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt.
• Combine the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.
• Pour the batter into two cake tins.
• Bake for about 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
• Cool cake in tins on wire rack for 10 minutes and then turn out the cakes to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate icing by melting chocolate and butter in a bowl placed above a pan of simmering water (please make sure the water is not touching the base of the bowl). Let it cool for a while.
• Then, add golden syrup, sour cream and vanilla extract to the cooled chocolate mixture and stir well to combine.
• Sieve in icing sugar a little at a time and stir; check whether the icing is of your desired consistency and thickness. I found 100g of icing sugar to be more or less the right amount (I don’t want the icing turns rock-hard when cold).
• With serrated knife, cut each cake so that the top is level.
• Place one cake layer on a cake stand and spoon 1/3 mixture of the icing sugar on it, spreading evenly.
• Sit the other layer on top. Spoon another 1/3 of icing on the top and spread the rest to the sides of the cake.
• Lastly, make the caramelised nuts by heating water and sugar in a shallow pan in low heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is bubbling.
• Add the nuts and turn off the heat. Make sure each nut is coated with the sugar mixture.
• Turn on the heat to medium and stir the coated nuts until you see the nuts turn golden brown and you hear slight noises from the nuts.
• Turn off the heat immediately and stir in butter. Take out the nuts and scatter and separate the nuts on a crumpled piece of foil. Let them cool.
• Top the cake with the caramelised nuts.

Honey Lemon Chicken Wings

To Jie Jie

The 3 years living under the same roof with Jie Jie was definitely one of the highlights of my uni life at HKU. We hit it off with each other since day 1 when we both rented rooms in the same flat in an old and dilapidated 'tong lau' in Barbington Path. After 1 year, the two of us moved out and rented a 2 room flat in Pokfulam Road, just opposite to the Main Building in HKU... We hardly cooked in those days, but Jie Jie loved chicken wings so she always had a pack of frozen chicken wings to standby. She cooked it simply by adding soy sauce and microwaving them for 10 minutes. Simple but delicious...

This recipe is finger-lickingly good and I hope Jie Jie would love this as much as I do. It was Auntie 9's recipe; the first time I ate it, I wolfed down 6 pieces before dinner. Since it was one of the dishes for dinner and I had emptied half of the plate, Aunty 9 had to make another batch for dinner!

Serves 4

Ingredients

Marinades

1. 1 teaspoon sugar
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 2 teaspoon soy sauce
4. 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
5. 2 teaspoon shaoxing wine
6. 1 teaspoon sesame oil
7. 2 teaspoon cornflour
8. 1 tablespoon oil

1. 10 whole chicken wings, jointed
2. vegetable oil
3. self-raising flour
4. 1 clove of garlic, sliced
5. 1 spring onion, chopped
6. Sesame oil
7. 2 teaspoons lemon juice
8. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
9. 3 tablespoons honey
10. lemon slices for garnish

Method:

• Marinade chicken wings for at least 1 hour.
• Heat wok and fill the wok with oil until half full. Test the oil with a chopstick: stick it into the oil, the oil is ready when bubbles come up from the chopstick.
• Coat chicken wings with self-raising flour. Place them carefully in the oil and fry until golden brown. Use a cocktail stick to test if the wings are cooked.
• Take out the chicken wings to drain on a kitchen towel.
• Drain the oil and reserve only 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok. Turn on high heat and toss garlic and spring onion for 1 minute. Then add lemon juice, honey, soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste and adjust the sauce if necessary.
• Pour the sauce on the chicken wings and garnish with lemon pieces and serve.

Steamed scallops with garlic and cellophane noodles

To Rita

Yesterday was Rita’s birthday. We have known each other since Form 1 (no I am not going to give away the number of years I have come to know her =p) and we have a tradition of giving each other a bottle of perfume for birthday (though we did deviate from this tradition a number of times). This year, I am keeping our tradition and have sent her a bottle of perfume, again from Penhaligon’s. When I called her yesterday, she was rushing home to have her ‘birthday fish’ (she rejected her mom’s offer to buy her a birthday cake)! Haha great minds think alike – our birthday cravings are seafood and more seafood! So without further ado, this is my recipe for simple steamed scallops with garlic and cellophane noodles. Rita, come to London and claim your birthday scallops! =)

Serves 3 as a starter

Ingredients

1. 6 Scallops (with shell)
2. 1 bulb of garlic
3. 3 tablespoon of oil
4. 1 teaspoon of sugar
5. 1 teaspoon of salt
6. 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
7. 1 small handful of cellophane noodles
8. Spring onions to garnish

Method

• To prepare the scallops, run a blunt knife to twist and open the shell a little; then cut across the flat side of the shell to release the flesh. Remove the flat side of the shell; the scallop should still be sticking to the other side of the shell. Remove the skirt and all the black bits and retain the coral and the scallop meat.
• Chop garlic finely (or use a food processor to whiz).
• In a small pan, turn on medium heat and cook 2/3 of the chopped garlic with 3 tablespoons of oil. Let it cook until the garlic pieces turn golden brown. Add sugar and salt to taste.
• Remove from the heat and add in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Add in the remaining 1/3 of the garlic and mix well. (In Chinese, we call it ‘gold and silver garlic pieces’, i.e. a mixture of cooked and raw garlic.)
• Use boiling water to run through the cellophane noodles to make it softer.
• Spoon some garlic mixture on each scallop and put on some cellophane noodles.
• Steam for 6 minutes, or longer until cooked.
• Add finely chopped spring onions to garnish. Serve.
  

Stir Fry Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion

To Dad

A long long time ago, when my granny was in charge of the domestic kitchen, crabs were reserved for special occasions such as birthdays. I could still remember my anxious anticipation on my birthday, not for birthday pressies, not for birthday cake, but for crabs on the dinner table! I am sure my father would understand my sense of anticipation because he is a keen crab eater too!

Here in the UK, crabs are relatively cheap but they are often sold dressed. We can get hold of live ones in Chinese supermarkets, but they won't prepare the crab for you. So we are left with live crabs (sometimes excessively active with their claws moving around)...you can imagine the difficulty I had in 'humanely' dismantling the crab.

This dish was taught by Uncle 9, Y's father and is a great example to demonstrate his talents in cooking and his generosity in sharing his cooking tips with me.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 2 big crabs
2. 3 spring onions
3. 10 slices of ginger
4. 1/2 onion
5. potato starch
6. 2 cloves of garlic
7. 3 tablespoons brandy
8. 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
9. salt
10. sugar
11. soy sauce
12. oil
13. water

Method

• Carefully send the crabs to eternity and chop them into big pieces. Use kitchen towel to pat dry.
• Slice the onion and ginger and chop the spring onions roughly.
• Then, fill the wok with oil halfway up and heat up the oil. Dip a chopstick in the oil. Air bubbles will surround the chopstick when the oil is hot enough.
• In the meantime, use potato starch to coat all crab pieces.
• Gently put the crab pieces into the wok and fry until golden brown.
• Take out the crab pieces and put on kitchen towel to absorb off excess oil.
• Drain the oil from the wok very carefully and clean it thoroughly.
• Heat the wok over a high heat.
• Add 2 tablespoons of oil and then add in onion, garlic, ginger and spring onion. Toss well.
• When you can smell the aromatics, put in the crab pieces. Toss well for 2 minutes (mind you, this requires lots of elbow grease.)
• Add salt, sugar and soy sauce to taste.
• Put in about 100ml of water into the wok. Put on the lid and cook for 2 minutes.
• Finally, pour in the brandy and oyster sauce and let them evaporate a bit. If there is little sauce, you may want to add some more water. Toss for 1 minute.
• Finally add potato starch water (2 tablespoons of cold water with 1 teaspoon of potato starch) to thicken the sauce and let the sauce come to the boil. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Cake

To Elaine

I only have a few friends here in London, one of whom is Elaine. She loves chocolate, and I promised her a chocolate cake for her birthday. Originally we had our eyes on Nigella’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake. But when I tried to ‘road-test’ it, due to my own incompetence, namely, the failure to adjust the oven time for a different cake size, the cake turned out a tad too dense and dry. In the end, I opted for another route – a simple Victoria sponge with cocoa powder added. It came out wonderfully moist and fluffy. For the topping, I adapted Nigella’s soured cream icing with some Winnie the Pooh and Friends sugar pieces. Elaine was particular pleased with the Eyeore sugar piece on the cake!

Serves 4 -6

Ingredients
For chocolate sponge

1. 165g self-raising flour
2. 35g cocoa
3. 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
4. 165g margarine (I used Stork)
5. 155g caster sugar
6. 3 eggs
7. 100ml milk

For chocolate soured cream icing

1. 45g unsalted butter
2. 100g dark chocolate
3. 100g icing sugar
4. 2 teaspoons golden syrup
5. 75ml soured cream
6. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

• Grease two 6 inch round cake tins (with loose bottoms) and line with baking parchment.
• Preheat oven to 160c.
• Sieve flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl.
• In another bowl, place margarine, sugar, beaten eggs and milk and mix well.
• Beat in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Beat until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
• Spoon cake mixture into prepared cake tins, spreading evenly.
• Bake for about 35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
• Cool cake in tins on wire rack for 10 minutes and then turn out the cakes to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate icing by melting chocolate and butter in a bowl placed above a pan of simmering water (please make sure the water is not touching the base of the bowl). Let it cool for a while.
• Then, add golden syrup, sour cream and vanilla extract to the cooled chocolate mixture and stir well to combine.
• Sieve in icing sugar a little at a time and stir; check whether the icing is of your desired consistency and thickness. I found 100g of icing sugar to be more or less the right amount (I don’t want the icing turns rock-hard when cold).
• With serrated knife, cut each cake so that the top is level.
• Place one cake layer on a cake stand and spoon 1/3 mixture of the icing sugar on it, spreading evenly.
• Sit the other layer on top. Spoon another 1/3 of icing on the top and spread the rest to the sides of the cake. Use whatever tools you have to smoothen the top or simply use a dessertspoon to create a patterned top. Adorn the cake with your favourite sugar pieces.

Mum's Potato Soup

To Mum

Today is Mothering Sunday and I am sharing one of my mom's best soups with you... I still remember how I drooled when my mom made it in the kitchen (those were days when my granny cooked so it was a rare occasion for my mom to cook, let alone to make soups).

I have adapted the recipe: I have added sweetcorn, a pinch of ground nutmeg and some crispy bacon bits on top - sweetcorn makes the soup sweeter and contributes to the ever-important 5-a-day; the scent of nutmeg makes the soup even more homely; and the crispy bacon adds texture and pre-empts any complaint from the carnivores. Today I even added half a tin of crabmeat while making it for Y! You see, the possibilities are infinite!

Serves 2

Ingredients

1. 1 medium-sized potato
2. 1/2 onion
3. 30ml evaporated milk
4. 350 ml water
5. Butter
6. Nutmeg
7. 2 tablespoonfuls of frozen sweetcorn
8. 80g of crabmeat from a tin (I used Morrison's)
9. 2 rashers of streaky bacon

Method

• Chop the onions; peel and chop the potatoes into cubes.
• Place 2 rashers of bacon on a foil and let them crisp up in a very hot oven.
• In a pan on medium heat, use some butter to cook the onions for about 2 minutes until they are softened but not coloured.
• Add in the potatoes and use a wooden spoon to stir constantly to stop them from sticking. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Add in water and put on a high heat.
• When the potatoes are soft, use a hand blender to whizz the soup until all the lumps disappear. Add in sweetcorn and crabmeat. Let it come to a boil and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir constantly.
• Pour in the evaporated milk. Add salt and grate nutmeg to taste.
• Serve with crispy bacon bits sprinked on top.

Prawn and Sweetcorn Chowder with a Puffy Top

To Y

Chowder, I think, is the ultimate soup to Y. Whenever I ask him what soup he would like, he would invariably answers ‘clam chowder’. I always let him down by not making it as it is difficult to get nice fresh clams here (the ready-prepared clams available in the supermarket often has sand in them). Having disappointed him for so many times, I decided to make chowder with prawns... the result was amazing and I unashamedly crowned it as the best chowder I have ever had! I topped the soup with ready-rolled puff pastry to make it more filling, which makes an ideal Friday light dinner.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1. 1 small onion
2. 1 clove of garlic
3. 4 rashers of streaky bacon
4. Butter
5. 1 medium-sized potato
6. 50ml double cream
7. 6 raw jumbo size king prawns
8. 1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
9. 100g frozen sweetcorn
10. 700ml hot chicken stock (I used Knorr’s chicken stock pot and dilute one pot with 750ml of boiling water)
11. Beaten egg mixture
12. 1 teaspoon of scallop coral powder*

Method

• Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Peel the potatoes and chop them into 2 cm chunks. Cut the streaky bacon into strips. Remove the shells and de-vein the prawns and cut them into 2 cm chunks.
• Using medium heat, gently cook the onion, garlic and bacon with a knob of butter in a saucepan for 2 minutes until they are softened but not coloured.
• Add the sweetcorn, potato and stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the prawns and simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Remove about ¼ of the chunks (i.e. potatoes, onion, garlic, bacon and prawns) from the soup and use a hand blender to blend until smooth.
• Return the blended mixture to the pan. Stir to combine. Depending on the consistency, you may want to blend more chunks to thicken the soup.
• Add the double cream and season to taste and bring it to the boil. Turn off the heat.
• Pour the soup into 2 soup pots. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200c.
• Cut 2 squares of puff pastry big enough to cover the top of the soup pots and top them on the soup pots. Stick the corners of the puff pastry to the soup pot with some egg mixture. Brush the pastry lightly with egg mixture.
• Put the soup pots in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note

*Scallop coral powder: I made this from Gordon Ramsay's recipe on timesonline. Spread fresh scallop corals on a baking sheet in a very low oven for a few hours until they are completely dry and brittle. Use a food processor to grind them to a powder. This coral powder gives a very strong seafood flavour and is ideal for adding into soups.