Oats-Wholemeal Bread

Do you know that the aroma of freshly-baked bread has more than just the power to make your mouth watered, it can also make you kinder to strangers? According to a study on the effects of delectable aromas and social interaction, the French researchers found 'spontaneous help was triggered by pleasant ambient smells'.  When volunteers dropped items outside a bakery giving off the sweet scent of baking bread, 77% of passers-by stopped and helped.  While other studies have made a connection between pleasant smells to better moods, the new study sought to make a concrete tie between aromas and good deeds.  Isn't that interesting?  

Adapted from Carol's  湯種100%全麥吐司

Ingredients:

(A) Tang Zhong Dough (mix together and chill overnight in the fridge)

50ml scalded milk

50g organic wholemeal bread flour

(B) Main Dough

100g Tang Zhong

200g organic wholemeal bread flour

50g rolled oats

1 egg (50g)

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt

30g honey

90g cold milk

30g olive oil

extra rolled oats for topping

• In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all ingredients (B) except oil together.  Then add in (A), knead until well combined.  Gradually add in olive oil and continue to knead until dough is smooth and elastic. 
• Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingwrap.  Place it in a warm place to allow the dough to rise until at least doubled in volume.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and divide into two equal portions.  Shape into balls.  Cover and rest for 20 minutes. 
• Flatten the dough into rectangular shape and roll them up like swiss rolls.
• Place the two rolls  into a greased loaf pan; cover and let it proof again until almost doubled or 90%.  Spritz the dough with water and sprinkle with rolled oats.
• Bake in a preheated oven (175 deg C) for about 40 minutes or until brown.
• Remove the bread from the pan immediately.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe

Pipa Tofu ( 琵琶豆腐 )

Image from 4.bp.blogspot.com

These tofu patties are shaped to resemble  a  pipa (Chinese: 琵琶, prounced as Pee-pah) which is one of the oldest Chinese musical instrument with a pear-shaped wooden body; hence the name Pipa Tofu.   

  

(A)  Ingredients  (Makes 28 pieces)

160g minced Spanish mackerel flesh

100g minced pork

60g prawns, minced

40g bacon, chopped finely

50g carrot, chopped finely

4 water chestnuts, chopped finely

2 shiitake mushroom, softened and chopped finely

340g soft tofu, mashed

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion

1 egg white

1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp white pepper

2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp tapioca starch

Mix together for coating during frying:

2 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp tapioca starch

enough oil for deep frying

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients (A) together to make a paste.
• Grease porcelain Chinese soup spoons with some oil, scoop spoonfuls of the paste and mould into a shape of Pipa.   With wet fingers, smoothen the surface.  
• Place the spoons on a stainless steel plate and steam for about 7 minutes.
• Drain the liquid from the plate for later use.  Remove the tofu paste from the spoon.  
• Lightly coat the steamed tofu with the prepared flours.  Fry them until golden brown. Drain well.
• Serve the crispy Pipa Tofu with your favourite chillie sauce. 

Or cook the Pipa Tofu with vegetables of your choice:

Napa cabbage, cut into pieces

Bok choy, cut into pieces

Carrots, sliced

Enoki mushrooms

chopped garlic

(B)  Ingredients for Sauce:

reserved liquid from the steaming process

1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 tsp cornflour + 1 tbsp water

• Heat a wok with a little oil, stir fry chopped garlic until fragrant.  Add in carrots and stir for about a minute.  Then add in the rest of the vegetables and enoki mushrooms together with the reserved liquid.  Season with oyster sauce and salt & pepper.  
• Return the Pipa Tofu to the wok and toss well.  Simmer for a few minutes and thicken sauce with cornflour mixture.  
• Dish out  and serve hot.  

Golden Sponge Cake (千叶黄金蛋糕)

This recipe is a keeper!  It was taken from  美食杰, a Chinese website featuring many wonderful recipes.  I have no idea how to translate 千叶黄金蛋糕 into English, so I had to make do with the name 'Golden Sponge Cake'.  This moist and tender cake is kind of a cross between a chiffon and a sponge cake. 

The recipe didn't state the size of the pan used so I used my 30 x 20 cm rectangular pan and my cake turned out quite short -  only  2cm high.  And I decided to cut the cake into two and sandwiched together with some whipped cream.  

Source:   千叶黄金蛋糕  (with some changes)
Ingredients:  

(A)
1 egg yolk 

(B)
55g butter
55g warm milk
50g plain flour
15g corn flour
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/2 a vanilla bean pod

(C)
5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
55g caster sugar 

• Line a 30 x 20 cm pan with baking paper.  Preheat oven to 160 deg C.
• Sift plain flour and corn flour together.  Set aside.
• Place 1 egg yolk into a small piping bag.  Set aside.

• Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat until small bubbles start to break on the surface. Meanwhile cut the vanilla pod into half, lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds and add into the melted butter.  Stir well.  Turn off heat.

• Immediately add in flour mixture all at once and quickly stir to combine.  At this stage the batter should be quite thick.   Pour in warm milk and mix well.  Then add in whole egg and egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.  The batter will become smooth and quite runny.

• In a clean, dry mixing bowl, whisk egg whites with a handheld mixer until foamy, add in cream of tartar.  Then whisk until soft peaks form and add in sugar, in three additions and continue to whisk until it reaches firm peaks stage.

• Add one-third of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture and gently mix until it is well incorporated.  Next, pour the egg yolk mixture into the meringue and using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine.  Pour batter into the prepared pan.

• Snip off the end of the piping bag filled with egg yolk.  Pipe diagonal lines across the surface of the batter, drag a skewer or toothpick through the lines in opposite directions across the cake to create a feathered effect.  (As you can see, I didn't do a good job on the pattern, that is why I covered it up with icing sugar when I took pictures of the cake)
• Bake for about 25 - 28 minutes or until golden brown.

• Cool the cake completely before spreading whipped cream on it.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe