Hongkong-style egg tarts

Walking around the streets of HK , you couldn't help but see these popular tea time treats in most local bakeries . 

Egg tart or dan tat is a baked pastry filled with egg custard . There are two kind of crust , the shortcrust and puff pastry . But most egg tarts that I've eaten so far are made with sweet crust pastry , sort of like a shortbread but has a softer , melt-in-the-mouth texture . I don't like the puff pastry version of dan tat but I adore Potuguese egg tart , it's the caramelized topping that makes the difference , I think .

So where's the best egg tart in HK ? 

Check out the small local bakeries , they're all over HK , not only it's cheap , from $2.5 and in some bakeries , if you buy 5 pieces , they'll give you one for free  ^___^

It's been more than 3 years since I've made my first egg tarts . The first was so disappointing , very thin crust but the small consolation is the smooth egg filling though it tasted bland .

I seldom bake tarts and this is my 3rd attempt , so far . Much as I love this kind of dessert , I still struggle to make the pastry crust , yeah , need more practice . Making the crust for this recipe alone takes me nearly an hour ! The dough is easy to handle but I had to roll the dough several times , got fed up , roll the dough again into a ball and from there , grab a portion and pressed it into each tin . By the time I was into my 5th tin , I found my rhythm lol 

I used the recipe that I've found at Christine's Recipes book . Compare to the one in her blog , the ingredients of the custard/egg filling has a different amount . I've changed two ingredients of the pastry crust but used the egg filling recipe as is . It says in the book , the ( crust )  ingredients will make 16 tart shells and my modified pastry crust is enough for 8 tart tins , 3 square tins ( roughly the same size as the tart tins ) and 6 mini tins . The size of the tart tin listed in the book is too big , 1 1/2-inch deep is too much , mine is only 3/4-inch tsk ! The egg filling is not enough to fill all the pastry crust , I think the recipe of it in her blog is much more suitable .

I've seen the gorgeous tarts of Jeannie's / Baking Diary and I like the look of her crust . She used some condensed milk in pastry crust , so I decided to used condensed milk instead of sugar in this recipe . The result is soft , a bit crumbly melt-in-your-mouth pastry crust even if you manhandle the dough ! 

I'm not really happy with the color of some of the egg tart crust when I baked it yesterday , only 4 has this pretty golden brown crust . I think the oven is a bit off that day *sigh* Luckily , I still have 5 extra tart shells from previous day , so this morning , I made half of the egg filling recipe and this time I'm quiet satisfied with the color of all the crust .

The first 3 photos was taken today and the last 3 from previous day . 

Recipe adapted from Easy Recipes : A Selection of Simple Classics 

Makes 16 tarts 

For the egg tart filling :

2 eggs , at room temperature

70 grams caster sugar

150 ml hot water

75 ml evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Add sugar into hot water , stir until dissolved , let it cool down . Whisk eggs and evaporated milk together then  pour in the sugar water and add in vanilla , mix well . Strain mixture and set aside . 

For the crust :

200 grams all-purpose flour

25 grams cake flour

125 grams butter , at room temperature

55 grams caster sugar I used 60 grams condensed milk

1 egg , lightly beaten egg yolk only 

a dash of vanilla extract

* Beat butter and sugar condensed milk , over medium-speed , until light and fluffy . Add the whisked egg in 2 additions egg yolk and beat over low speed , add in vanilla . Sift in the flours in 2 additions , scraping down sides of the bowl between each additions , until well combined . Knead dough  for few seconds . 

* You can either roll out the dough and use the tart tin to cut it or get a portion and press dough into tin . Using your thumbs , starting from the bottom up to the sides , turn the tart tin in a clockwise or anti-clockwise motion in order to make an even tart shell . Trim away any excess dough . Repeat with the rest of the dough . 

* Preheat oven to 200°C . Position rack into the lowest part of the oven .

* Pour filling into each tart shell . Bake tarts for 10 to 15 minutes . Reduced the temperature to 180°C and if the filling is puffing up , open the oven door ajar , about 2 to 3 inches . Continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes until filling is set or when toothpick inserted in the middle of the tart stands on its own .

Dan dan noodles , the bastardized version

There is no such thing as soupy dan dan noodles .....

So I'll just give you the bastardized version lol

In this side of the world , some Chinese restaurant actually serve dan dan noodles , the soupy version and I've tried it in two different place . The second one that I've tried is nearly similar to the original dan dan noodle recipe except that it's soupy . The bastardized version that I really like is the one with sesame paste or maybe with some peanut butter in there as well ?! Yup , they call it here , dan dan mein . 

What's in a name ?

This recipe is a spin from Martin Yan's dan dan noodles , which I renamed peanut sesame noodles , that I've made few years back . And I've posted this soupy version before but this time I've tweaked it out a bit .

You can actually tweaked this recipe to what suits you best . Reducing the chilli flakes ( and oil ) or omitting it for a kid-friendly noodle soup . Omitting peanut butter and just use sesame paste . Adding more liquid if you want a thinner soup . Or use a different kind of noodle though Shanghai noodles is the best for this recipe .

The soup will thicken as it cools down , so when you've already added it to the noodles , you need to eat it immediately . If there's some leftover soup , you can thin it out by adding more water and/or broth then add salt to taste .

Serves  2-3 

400 grams fresh or dried Shanghai noodles 

2 cups water 
2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoon chilli flakes
4 tablespoons peanut butter 
4 teaspoons sesame paste
1 teaspoon black vinegar ( Chinkiang vinegar )
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 teaspoon chilli oil plus more for drizzling
salt , if needed 

2-3 tablespoons chopped peanuts
2-3 teaspoons preserved mustard radish
1 stalk spring onion , choppped

* Cook fresh noodles for 3 minutes . Drain , rinse and drain in a colander , set aside .

* In a small ( 3-quart ) saucepan , pour in water and broth then add in chilli flakes . Bring to the boil and cook for a minute . Turn off heat and add in peanut butter , sesame paste , vinegar , soy sauce and five-spice powder , use a whisk to stir ingredients together until well combined . Bring mixture to the boil and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes , stirring constantly and adjust taste . Add in the chiili sauce and give it a good stir . ( If you think that the mixture is a bit thick , add in more broth or water , let it boil again and adjust taste . ) Turn off heat . 

* Refresh noodles with warm water and shake off excess water . Divide noodles into 2 or 3 bowls , pour in the soup , drizzle with chilli oil , top with chopped peanuts , preserved mustard radish and chopped spring onion . Serve immediately .

Stir fried udon noodles with ( homemade ) char siu

What's not to love  about this dish?!

Simple , fast and really satisfying !

One of my favorite stir fry noodle combination , udon and char siu . Easier than making gon chau ngau ho since udon has a firm texture .

I forbid myself from eating the rest of the leftover char siu ! 1 kg is not that much especially if you're eating rice during lunch and dinner . At least , there's only the two of us and somebody here didn't seem to like it much , so more for me , right ?! *evil laugh* 

If you don't like a darker noodles , you can reduce the dark soy sauce . But lime juice and chilli sauce is a must for this dish !

I still have some char siu left for making char siu buns though it's really , really hard to keep my grubby hands off it  ^___^ " 

Serves 2 

400 grams ( 2 packs ) instant udon noodles
200 grams ( homemade or store-bought ) char siu / Chinese-style barbecued pork
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced yellow bell pepper
1 small onion , sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
5 stalks spring onions
a generous teaspoon chilli sauce
juice of half a lime or lemon
a dash of ground white pepper

1/2 cup pork broth or water
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon raw sugar or granulated sugar

* Cut char siu and spring onions into about 1 - 1/2-inch in length ; the sliced carrots and bell pepper should be about the same size .

* In a small bowl , mix the broth , dark and light soy sauce and sugar , set aside .

* In a large non-stick pan or wok , over medium heat , pour about 1 tablespoon oil , when oil is hot , add in onion and cook for 3 minutes . Add ginger , char siu and carrots , cook for a minute .Transfer mixture to a plate , set aside .

* In the same pan or wok ( be sure that the wok is really hot so that noodles won't stick ) , over medium-high heat , add in the noodles , stirring from time to time , cook for 4 minutes .

* Add in the char siu mixture and bell pepper to the pan and mix well . Pour in the broth mixture , stir well to combine , adjust taste . Cook noodles , stirring constantly until the liquid is nearly absorbed then add in the spring onions , chilli sauce and lime juice . Give another good stir , dish up and serve hot . 

Char siu - Chinese barbecued pork

So , how's your Valentine's Day date ?

Me ?! Sadly ......

I drowned my sorrow by making char siu lol

Read more about char siu at Wiki .

The last time I've made char siu was 2 years ago and I used Lee Lum Kee char siu sauce . Now before you say , bottled sauce ?! It tastes good actually and the taste closely resembled to the char siu here in Hongkong . I like it but not that much .

Though the not-so picky taste tester here prefer homemade char siu made from bottled sauce over this made from scratch marinade *gasp*

There's no accounting for taste , hee hee ! 

I've got this recipe from Alvin aka Chef and Sommelier , one of my favorite Singaporean bloggers . I've been eyeing his recipe since he posted it in May last year and had to stick my xeroxed recipe on our kitchen wall as a reminder . You should see our kitchen wall , several recipes sticking here and there  -__-

I have another 2 char siu recipe that I've been planning to make ( hopefully ?! ) but ditched the other one since it calls for 5 pounds of pork ugh ! That's good if you're making it for a party but I'm only feeding 2 person . I lifted two ingredients from this book and added them to Alvin's recipe .

Here in HK , if you want to make char siu , you can ask the butcher that you want a cut of pork for making char siu and they'll give you that . In my case , I've selected the cut I usually buy when I make potstickers or steamed minced pork . There's this beautiful marbling of fat in that area and it's near the skin so there's some good old fat as well that's really good when charred . I don't really know which cut of pork is the one I usually buy .

The verdict ?! I'll let the photos do the talking .....

Now , now stop drooling ! It's really easy to make ! 

Recipe adapted from Chef and Sommelier ( Thanks , Alvin ! ) Please check out original recipe and instruction at his blog .

1 kg pork , cut into 3-inches wide and about 3/4-inches thick ( rough estimate )

For the marinade : 

1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp ground white pepper
2 tablespoon maltose syrup
2 cubes red fermented beancurd
2 tablespoon raw sugar
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese wine
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
3/4 teaspoon five-spice powder

* Wash and dry pork thoroughly .

* In a medium bowl , combine ingredients for the marinade and mix well . Add in the pork , use hands to coat each piece of pork and chill for at least 4 hours , preferably overnight . Try to stir the mixture from time to time . Remove the pork from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking . Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or use a roasting pan .

* Preheat oven to 200°C . Transfer char siu the marinated pork to the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes each on both sides . Baste the top twice with some of the marinade from the pan . If you want a nicely charred surface , turn oven temperature to the highest setting , move the wire rack 3-inches above the heat source ( I'm using a counter top oven ) and cook for about 2 minutes on both sides . Take out from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing .

* Serve with rice , what else ?! Or noodles or beer or whatever you fancy .

Easy Japanese soufflé cheesecake

No Valentine's date yet ?!

Don't worry , me either lol 

I've been meaning to bake this cheesecake when I saw it from one of my fave Singaporean bloggers , Ann of Anncoo Journal's blog late last year . The recipe is from Ochikeron's 3-ingredients cheesecake though Ann added lemon zest and juice .

I haven't tried the cream cheese and white chocolate combo at that time and since both are my favorite things in the world .....

Of course , since I'm one of those who always procrastinating , it was not until early this month that I've baked it .

So far , I've baked 2 this month and we're only halfway through February ?!

I've got a half kilo of cream cheese !

This cake tastes really good , so easy to make and it has only 3 ingredients , or in my case , 4 ( or 5 ), since I've also added lime zest and juice ( like Ann did ) . Best of all , the recipe calls for only 130 grams of cream cheese  ! Okay , this cake is not that big , 7-inches by 1 1/4 inches and if you want a bigger cake and won't mind using 6 eggs , you'll get a bigger cake . Don't forget to add lime or lemon , it's really a must , as it'll cut down the richness of the cream cheese and chocolate mixture .  

What are you planning for Valentine's Day ?! 

Recipe adapted from Ochikeron and first seen at Ann's blog

130 grams cream cheese , at room temperature

120 grams Giuttard white chocolate chips 

3 eggs , cold

zest of 1 lime and 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice 

*  Grease a 7 x 3-inch round loose-bottom pan and line with baking parchment at the bottom , grease the parchment as well . 

* Separate eggs and put the egg whites in the fridge . 

* Preheat oven to 170°C . Prepare a pot of boiling water .

* Melt chocolate chips ( if using bar chocolate , finely chop it so that it'll melt easily ) over a pot of barely simmering water . When melted , add cream cheese and use a whisk , stir well until smooth .

* Remove bowl from heat and add the yolks and mix well then add in the lime zest and juice , stir well to combine . Beat egg whites until firm peaks form .

* Add the beaten egg whites to the cream cheese batter , in 3 additions , blend well with a spatula after every each addition .

* Pour batter to the prepared pan , drop pan lightly on the counter top several times to removes air bubbles out of the batter .

* Pour hot water in a roasting pan and put pan on a wire rack over it . Bake cheesecake at 170°C for 15 minutes then lower to  160°C and bake for another 15 minutes . Turn off oven then leave the pan inside for another 15 minutes . Take out from the oven and let cool completely from the wire rack before removing the cheesecake out of the pan .

* Dust with icing sugar if prefer or serve slices with fresh fruit .

Here's the one that I've made last time