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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Warm Date-Cranberry Pudding With Butterscotch Sauce





Ingredients:

130g pitted dates
40g dried cranberries
240ml orange juice
zest of 1 orange
50g butter
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
85g brown sugar
110g self-raising flour, sift
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa powder
50g dark chocolate, chopped

  • Grease a deep 14cm square baking tin.  Line base with baking paper.
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Combine dates, cranberries and water in a saucepan.  Bring to the boil.  Remove from heat and add in bicarbonate of soda.  Let it stand for 5 minutes.  
  • Process the dates mixture in a food processor until smooth.   Set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until pale in colour.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add in orange zest.
  • Fold in flour and cocoa powder.  Stir in dates mixture and chopped chocolate.
  • Pour batter into prepared tin.  
  • Bake for about 50 minutes or until cake is cooked.
  • Remove cake from the oven.  Prick holes all over the surface of the cake and drizzle some butterscotch sauce over the top.  Return cake to the oven.  Bake a further 5 minutes.
  • Serve warm with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Butterscotch Sauce

120g coconut sugar, shaved (or brown sugar)
50g butter
1/2 cup cream

  • Combine butter and sugar in a small saucepan.
  • Stir over low heat until sugar dissolved.  Let simmer for about 3 minutes.
  • Finally, stir in cream.



Friday, June 8, 2012

Mung Beans Biscuits




A recipe from  Amy Beh's Tambun Biscuits

Filling:
250g split mung beans, soaked overnight and drained
150g caster sugar
2 tbsp fried shallot oil
2 tbsp fried shallot crisps
3/4 tsp salt

Water dough pastry:
150g plain flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
60g cooking oil
80g water
1 tbsp vinegar

Oil dough pastry:
100g plain flour
60g shortening

Egg wash:

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
1 pinch of salt

white sesame seeds

To prepare the filling:
  • steam the mung beans until soft and blitz in a food processor until fine.  Press through a sieve.  Cook mash mung beans in a wok with sugar, salt, shallot crips and shallot oil until sugar dissolves.  Transfer to a plate and leave to cool.
  • Divide the mashed mung beans into 25 portions and roll into balls.  Set aside.
To prepare water dough:
  • Put flour, salt, icing sugar and oil into a mixing bowl. 
  • Combine water and vinegar and pour into the flour mixture.  Using a dough hook, mix until the dough become smooth.  Leave aside to rest for 30 minutes.
To prepare oil dough:
  • Combine flour and shortening and using the dough  hook, mix until a smooth dough is form.  Set aside and rest for 30 minutes.
To prepare the pastry skin:
  • Roll out both water dough and oil dough into long sausage shapes.  Cut each roll into 25 pieces.  
  • Roll out a piece of water dough and wrap a piece of oil dough in it.  With a rolling pin, flatten the dough and roll into a swiss roll.
  • Repeat rolling and flattening of the dough 3 times.  Repeat with the rest of the pieces of dough.
To make the biscuits:
  • Fill the rolled out pastry with the filling and seal properly.  Roll into the shape of a ball.  
  • Place the biscuits onto a line tray and brush with egg wash.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.



Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Basil Pesto Pasta


Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts (light toasted) [or toasted pine nuts]
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 small cloves garlic
100g  parmesan cheese
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

  • Combine, walnuts, basil and garlic in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped.
  • With the food processor still running, pour in the olive oil gradually.  Add in cheese and season with salt and pepper.
  • Before serving with pasta, a tablespoon fresh cream can be stirred into the pesto for a creamier flavour. 




Friday, June 1, 2012

Braised Spare-ribs and Bitter Gourd






Ingredients:

800g pork ribs
1 medium sized bitter gourd, cut into pieces
knob of ginger (about 3cm), minced
4 cloves  garlic, minced 
2 shallots, minced
2 tbsp fermented soy beans
1/2 tsp fermented black beans
2 birds' eye chillies (optional)
10 g rock sugar / 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp cooking wine
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 cup  water
spring onion & coriander leaves - garnishing
cornstarch + water (for thickening the gravy)

  • Cut the pork ribs in between the bones.  Blanch in boiling water for a minute.  Drain.
  • Heat oil in a saucepan.  Saute ginger, shallots and garlic until fragrant.  Add fermented soy beans and black beans and chillies.  Stir for a minute.
  • Add in pork ribs and stir fry for about 5 minutes.  Then add in wine, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper. Stir fry for another minute before adding water.  Bring to the boil.  
  • Lower the heat and let it simmer until ribs are tender.  Add in bitter gourd.  Cook for another 15 minutes.  Thicken gravy with cornstarch.