Chinese steamed egg

 

How do you like your eggs ?

Me ? I like eggs in any form .....

Don't be dirty-minded ......

Heck , I even like Balut  lol 

Steamed egg is not as popular as sunny-side up or scrambled even boiled egg , that is , outside Asia ....

I haven't even heard of it before coming here .....

If you're a Chinese , you've already tried this and I'm sure a fixture in your Mom's home-cooked meal ....

For those who haven't eaten it before , just imagine you're eating Taho or silken tofu because the texture is almost the same .....

The texture of this steamed egg is smooth as silk as long as just strain the mixture and cover it with foil before steaming ....

The right proportion of water to egg is really important to achieve the light and smooth texture ...

It may not look much but what can you expect with just one egg and water combination ?

A drizzle of light soy sauce and some diced spring onions is a must !

Serves 2 or 1 hungry tummy

1  ( 65 grams ) egg , at room temperature
80 ml  lukewarm water
a small pinch of salt

some light soy sauce and diced spring onions to serve

* Whisk egg thoroughly , season with salt and add in the water ; stir well until combined . Strain mixture and pour it in the two small bowl or a shallow plate and cover the top with foil .

* Steam in a wok over medium-high heat , with the cover slightly ajar to let some of the steam escape ,  8 to 12 minutes ( check after 8 minutes ) or until mixture is firm  .

* Drizzle with soy sauce and garnish with some spring onions , serve warm .

Dulce de leche and condensed milk dunking buns

If you're on a diet , look the other way .....

If you're just like me who doesn't have that four letter word in her vocab , you're in the right place lol 

Now , now - see that pot of tea ? That will offset some of the carbs and sugar .....

Yeah , right !

I know that it's easier just to buy bread and slathering it with dulce de leche or condensed milk - saves time , money and effort ...

But there's something about the smell of freshly-baked bread and of course , I just love to make baked sandwich bread !

Another thing is kneading the dough - really a good exercise for my flabby arms .....

Well , sweating armpits aside , that is -___- ''

The weather here is starting to get toxic , hot and humid - for sure will continue  in next 4 to 5  months *sigh*

At least , I didn't have to prove the dough under the desklight heh !

Just in case you're interested in making these buns , better use muffin tins , smaller is better especially with sweet filling . I filled each dough with about 2 1/2 tablespoons dulce de leche - really too much , methinks and 1 tablespoon condensed milk which is just the right amount to me . The recipe calls for condensed milk only but I've got some dulce de leche so I used half of that and half condensed milk . Instead of the twisted top  , the top of my buns look like the top of a char siu buns  ^____^ ''

Condensed milk dunking buns , recipe adapted from Mad about bread

Makes 8 buns

For the dough :

300 grams bread flour ( I used 200 grams bread flour and 100 grams wholewheat flour )
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried milk powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
30 grams light muscovado sugar
1 sachet easy'blend yeast ( 2 1/4 tsp Saf red instant ) 
15 grams butter , melted ( sunflower oil ) 
170 grams warm water ( plus 1 tsp ) 

For the filling :

1 can / 397 grams condensed milk ( about 10 tablespoons dulce de leche and 4 tablespoons condensed milk ) 
30 grams melted butter for brushing

Cinnamon-sugar mix for sprinkling : Mix together 40 grams of granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon . You'll have more than enough for this recipe .  

* In a large bowl , whisk together the first 5 ingredients ; add in the yeast , stir well to combine . Make a well in the center of the flour mixture then add in the last 3 ingredients . Mix to form a cohesive dough ; tip in the dough on a clean surface . Knead for about 10 minutes or until dough is soft and elastic , Transfer dough into a lightly greased large mixing bowl , cover with cling wrap and top with kitchen towel . Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until double or triple in size .

* Grease and flour individual pudding basins and place them all on a baking sheet .

* Divide dough into 8 equal ( 65 grams ) portions . Mould them into round shape . Cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes .

* Roll out each portion into a 6 inch / 15 cm round . Brush the top surface of each with melted butter .

* Pick up one round and lay it , butter side-down , on top of one prepared tins , allowing the dough to dip into the basin slightly  . Spoon or pour 45 grams of the condensed milk into the middle of the dough . Carefully gather up up all the edges and gently twist the edges shut like a candy wrapper . Ease the parcel into the tin and put it back into the baking sheet . Repeat with remaining rounds .

* Brush remaining butter on the topknots of the parcels and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix . Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes .

* About 15 minutes before the end of the resting time , preheat oven to 220 °C . Bake for 13 to 15 minutes

* The cinnamon sugar tends to stick so , remove the bread as soon as possible .

 

Stir-fried udon

I've been meaning to post another stir-fried noodles for weeks now ....

You can never have too many noodle posts , right ?

Since , I don't really like udon with soup , stir frying it makes perfect sense .

This simple and easy dish is great when you don't have time to whip something fuzzy but still want a hearty and filling meal .

Serves 2

2 pack udon noodles
100 grams pork tenderloin , cut into bite size pieces
a portion each of red , yellow and green bell pepper or 1 large bell pepper , sliced
1/2 of a small onion , sliced
1 teaspoon chilli sauce
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic , minced
1 tsp ginger , finely chopped
1/2 tsp chicken powder

lime wedges to serve

For the sauce : Mix 4 tablespoons water , 1 tsp dark soy sauce , 1/2 tsp brown sugar .

* Marinate pork with 1/8 tsp dark soy , a pinch of salt , a dash of ground white pepper , few drops of sesame oil and 1/2 tsp tapioca or cornstarch for 20 minutes .

* Heat wok and pour some oil , when the oil is hot , add in the pork , stir fry until it changes color then add in the onion , garlic and ginger , cook for 2 minutes . Add in the bell peppers , season with chicken powder and brown sugar ; cook for a minute then transfer to a plate . Set aside .

* In the same pan , add in the noodles , cook for 4 minutes , stirring constantly to prevent from sticking at the bottom of the pan . Add in the pork and bell pepper mixture , stir well to combine then pour in the sauce , stir and adjust seasoning . Continue cooking until the sauce is absorbed . Dish up and serve hot

Roasted pistachio ice cream

I've been staring at the blank page for hours thinking of what to write ......

Eventhough I've been lurking from blog to blog looking for some inspiration for most of the afternoon , words still eludes me *sigh*

Don't mind the drama queen lol 

The 3 sentences above was written few days ago and I'm not kidding !

Below er only an hour prior to posting .......

This was so far , my most expensive ice cream - okay , not that much , but for 75 grams of shelled raw pistachio , it cost me HK $ 45. , nearly 6 US dollars .

So , the price of raw pistachio was worth it ?

Absolutely !

But that doesn't mean that you can't use salted pistachios that you can buy anywhere here .....

For HK $ 48. up per pound  , it's such a good deal and really great in making ice cream as you can see from my 2 previous pistachio ice cream posts .

I'm not really looking for some raw pistachios since I'm just quiet happy using the salted ones .....

But I saw some in one of the baking shops I frequently go to , and its beautiful green color , the reason I bought some ^____^ ''

 I used the wok to roast the raw pistachios for 5 minutes and even without any salt , the taste was fantastic !

Still , when I made this ice cream , I've added some salted pistachios because you just can't have too much of pistachio in this ice cream ! 

What about ...... I scream , you scream , we all scream for pistachio ice cream lol 

Recipe adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home  or check original recipe @ Food & Wine

Makes about 1 quart 

2/3 cup shelled pistachios , a combination of raw and salted ( plus extra add-ins , if prefer )

2 1/4 cups whole milk 

1 tablespoon + 1 tsp tapioca starch 

42 grams cream cheese , softened

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup whipping cream 

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup 

* Using the wok , roast pistachio over medium heat for 5 minutes , stirring from time to time . Transfer to a food processor and processed until pistachios become a very smooth paste .

* Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the starch in a small bowl , to make a smooth slurry paste . 

* Whisk cream cheese , pistachio paste and salt together in a medium bowl until smooth .

* Prepare a large bowl with ice and water .

* In a medium-sized saucepan , combine the remaining milk , cream , sugar and corn syrup , bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes . Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the starch mixture . Bring mixture back to a boil over medium heat and cook stirring with a heat-proof spatula until slightly thickened , about a minute .

* Remove from heat and gradually whisk in the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth . Pour mixture into a heatproof container and place over an ice bath to cool completely .

* Pour the ice cream base into the ice cream maker and churn for about 40 minutes or until thick and creamy . Pack ice cream into a freezer-proof container , layering it with some pistachios , if using . Press a parchment paper directly against the surface and freeze overnight . 

Coffee walnut cupcakes with mocha butter frosting

I'm baking early for Mother's Day .....

Remember my early Valentine's offering ? 

Nah ! 

That's just an excuse so that I can consume copious amount of butter and sugar ....

Hey ! I seldom make frosting ! 

I just can't call it cupcake without a frosting  -____- ''

Though my cupcakes look a bit like muffin with those cracks and bumps on top *sigh* 

The best thing about frosting is that it hides those imperfections and nobody will see what's underneath er except me and the rest of you , lurkers ? lol 

Oh ! Don't worry about the butter and sugar , it's not as if you're always making it weekly ......

Hmmmmm ... maybe I'll try another frosting recipe next week ?!  

Want to see more cupcakes ? 

Check out the Bake-Along event hosted by the trio of foodielicious ladies . It's their 2nd Birthday this year . And what better way to celebrate the occasion than baking cupcakes ? So , do check it out and if you want to join , just contact either Joyce , Lena  and Zoe . 

Recipe adapted from Leiths Baking Bible

Makes 12 

115 grams butter , softened ( I used 100 grams )

115 grams caster sugar ( 100 grams )

2 eggs , at room temperature , beaten 

115 grams self-raising flour

2 teaspoons instant coffee granules ( instant espresso )

1/4 tsp vanilla essence ( 1/2 tsp )
1 tsp coffee paste

55 grams walnuts , chopped

* Preheat oven to 180°C . Prepare 12 muffin liners and set aside . 

* In a large bowl , using an electric mixer , beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy . Beat in eggs a little at a time and scraping the sides of the bowl from time to time . Fold in the flour , coffee . walnuts and vanilla ; add a little water if necessary to make a soft dropping consistency . 

* Pour mixture in the prepared liners , about 2/3 . Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean . Leave to cool on a wire rack . 

For the mocha butter frosting :

This frosting is enough for 6 cupcakes 

55 grams butter 

115 grams icing sugar 

1 tsp cocoa powder 

1 tsp instant coffee granules 

1 tbsp boiling water 

* Mix cocoa powder , coffee and water in a small bowl , allow to cool until lukewarm .

* Beat butter until soft and gradually add in the icing sugar , scraping the sides of the bowl from time to time . Add the cocoa-coffee mixture and beat until well incorporated . Pipe on top of each cooled cupcake .     

This post is linked to the Bake-Along blog hop event hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours , Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids