Braised Glass Noodles With Prawns

[4 -5 servings]

(A)
800g prawns

(B): Marinade
3 coriander roots, chopped finely
6 cloves garlic, minced (38g)
15g ginger, minced
1 chilli, chopped finely
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil

(C)
400g glass noodles
20g ginger slices
20g garlic slices
1 chilli, sliced (optional)
1 tbsp oil

(D) Sauce:  (Adjust to suit your taste)
4 cups of water (or prawn/chicken stock)
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
pepper & salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

(E)
coriander leaves or spring onion to garnish

• Clean prawns by removing the heads and cutting off all the legs (leaving the shells on).  Using a sharp paring knife, make a slit along the back of the prawns and remove the vein. Set aside. 
• In a bowl, mix together ingredients (B). Heat 3 tbsp oil in a small pot until hot, then pour into the paste, stir to combine. Pour half of the mixture over the prawns and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Soak glass noodles in cold water for about 20 minutes.  Drained and set aside.
• Heat a little oil in a frying pan (or saucepan).  Fry the marinated prawns until half cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• In the same pan, add in 1/2 tbsp oil fry sliced ginger and garlic until aromatic.  
• Add in noodles and pour in the sauce.  then place the prawns on top of the noodles and spoon the remaining (B) mixture over the prawns.  Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles turn transparent.  Add more water/stock if necessary.  Turn off fire when all the liquid has been absorbed by the noodles.  Drizzle sesame oil over and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot.

Green Bean Vermicelli (or Glass Noodles)

B:  Marinade

Marinate prawns

Soft White Sandwich Loaf

There is clearly a baking craze going on now.  Just look at the supermarket shelves which have been stripped bare of pantry items, for instance flours, be it plain, self-raising or bread flour.

If you can't find any bread flour on the supermarket shelves, fret not.  You can make your own bread flour by mixing 1 part of Gluten Flour to 25 parts of Plain (All-Purpose) Flour to increase the protein content. 

With the homemade bread flour, I made a small loaf of bread which turns out to be very soft.

Ingredients:
300g bread flour
10g milk powder
1/4 tsp salt
40g caster sugar
5g instand dried yeast
200g liquid (1 egg + milk)
25g extra virgin olive oil

• Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.  In the bowl, combine all the  ingredients, except butter.  Turn the mixer on and knead until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Add in butter and continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic and passed the "window pane test" (Refer to note below).  Then knead in raisins.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with cling wrap and let it rise until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough to release trapped air.  Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• Flatten the dough and roll it up tightly.  Place onto a greased pullman tin (20.5 x 10.5 x 9 cm).  Cover and let it rise until almost doubled (90%).
• Preheat oven to 170°C.
• Bake for about 45 minutes or till golden brown.

Braised Beef Short Ribs With Daikon

Fall off the bone succulent and tender braised short ribs infused with Asian flavours. It tasted better than the day you cooked it.

Ingredients:
1.2kg beef short ribs
2 medium size daikon, cut into chunks
30g sliced ginger
30g garlic cloves (whole)
1 large onion, chopped
2 dried chillies (optional)
3 star anise
10g rock sugar (or brown sugar)
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
salt, to taste
about 3 cups water
oil

• Season ribs with salt.  Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sear the ribs until brown , turning occasionally.  Transfer onto a plate.
• In the same pot, add 1/2 tbsp oil and over low heat saute ginger, garlic cloves, dried chillies and onions until aromatic. Return ribs to the pot and add in rock sugar, light soy sauce, dark soya sauce, wine, black pepper and water (enough to cover the ribs).  Put the lid on and bring to a boil, then lower fire and simmer until ribs are almost tender (at least 2 hours). Then add in daikon.  Cook until ribs are very tender and daikon is soft.
• Remove from fire.
• Served with rice.

Bubur Cha Cha

Bubur Cha Cha is a classic Malaysian dessert.  It is an assorted medley of sweet potatoes, yams, black-eye beans and sago cooked in sweet coconut milk. Bubur Cha Cha can be served warm or cold.

Ingredients:
100g black-eye beans, rinsed and soak in hot water for at least 1 hour
1/2 cups sago
1 medium sized each yellow, purple and orange sweet potato 
about 250g taro 
1.5 litre water
palm sugar (to suite your taste)
4 pandan leaves, washed and knotted together
1 can Ayam brand coconut cream (400ml)
pinch of salt

• In a small pot filled with water, boil black-eye beans until soft. Set aside.
• Place sago in strainer and rinse under running tap water.  Then boil sago in plenty of hot water until translucent and cook. Drain into strainer and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
• Peel and cut sweet potatoes and yam into small cubes.  Steam separately until soft.
• Meanwhile, fill a large pot with 1.5 litre of water.  Add in pandan leaves and palm sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer until palm sugar dissolves.  
• Add in black-eye beans, steamed sweet potatoes, yam, sago, coconut cream and a pinch of salt.  Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  Adjust the desired sweetness by adding more palm sugar (or white sugar).
• Serve hot or cold.  

Kuih Bahulu (Sponge Cake)

Kuih Bahulu Mould

'Kuih Bahulu' as it is known in Malay language, are actually mini sponge cakes. Traditionally they are baked in brass moulds that come in all sizes and shapes. Kuih Bahulu are the Asian version of Madeleines, which are slightly crusty on the outside but  a little dry and spongy on the inside.  They are best eaten with a cup of coffee.

Ingredients:
110g caster sugar

4 eggs (weigh about 59g each)

zest of an orange

a pinch of salt

115g cake flour, sifted

oil for greasing the mould

• Preheat oven at 200°C.
• With an electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs and orange zest until thick and pale.
• Gently fold in flour. 
• Grease mould and preheat in the oven for 5 min.  Remove from oven and fill the hot mould to 100% full.  
• Bake for 10 min or until golden brown.
• Remove the mould from oven and using a skewer, gently lift the cake out.  Leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack.
• Grease the mould and reheat for another 2 min before filling up again. Repeat the steps until all batter is used up.

Chocolate-Chip Banana Muffins

This is my go-to banana muffin recipe (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's Quick & Easy Banana Muffin). These muffins are wonderfully moist, soft and buttery with a sweet banana flavour and they are easy to make too!

[This recipe makes 11 muffins]

A (dry ingredients):

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp soda bicarbonate

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp mixed spice

B (wet ingredients):

85g unsalted butter, melted

120g brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature (each egg weighs about 60g, with shell)

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp milk

about 1-1/2 cups mashed banana

C:

40g chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 220°C.  Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
• Sift (A) all the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
• Using the electric hand beater, whisk (B) all the wet ingredients until combined. 
• Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then whisk until well combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  (Batter will be thick). 
• Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon the batter into muffin cases, filling them all the way to the top.  Bake for 5 minutes at 220°C.  Then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and continue baking for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before transfering them  onto a wire rack to cool.

Note:  The initial high temperature will spring up the top of the muffins quickly, then the inside of the muffin continue to bake for the remainder of the time.  This helps the muffins to rise nice and tall.

Raisin Buns

Does Coronavirus Social Distancing made you go stir-crazy? If you have shied away from making bread from scratch in the past, now might be the time to finally give it a go.  It is one of the most rewarding and satisfying things you can do in the kitchen.

You can knead the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook or knead it by hand. Although kneading bread dough by hand may seem to be mindless, it actually helps us to mindfully do something productive and it is quite therapeutic too. Since this is a small dough, I decided to get my hands messy! (To learn more about how to knead by hand, refer here)

Ingredients:

280g bread flour

10g milk powder

50g caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

5g dried instant yeast

120g fresh milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

45g butter, room temperature

40g raisins (marinated in rum for at least 30 min)

white sesame seeds

Egg wash :  Lightly beat an egg with 1 tbsp of milk

• Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.  In the bowl, combine all the  ingredients, except butter.  Turn the mixer on and knead until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Add in butter and continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic and passed the "window pane test" (Refer to note below).  Then knead in raisins.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with cling wrap and let it rise until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough to release trapped air.  Divide dough into 8 equal portions and roll into round shape.  Cover and let them rest for 15 minutes.
• Shape the buns and place them onto a lined baking tray. Cover and let them rise until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Brush each bun with egg wash and sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds.
• Place the buns on the rack in the centre of the oven, and bake for 20 - 25min or until lightly brown.
• Transfer buns onto a cooling wire rack.

Window Pane Test:  This is the best way to determine if your bread dough is properly kneaded.  To do this, take a small chunk of dough and stretch it between your fingers.  If the dough tears, that means the gluten has not developed and it needs more kneading. The dough is ready to rest and prove if it stretches without tearing (like the picture above).

Banana-Walnut-Choc Chip Cake

Ingredients:

130g plain flour

10g milk powder (optional)

1/8 tsp soda bicarbonate

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 - 1/4 tsp mixed spice

1/8 tsp salt

3 eggs (weighing 59g each with shell)

60g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

160g mashed banana

90g rice bran oil

40g walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped finely

40g choc chips

• Preheat oven at 160°C.
• Line a loaf pan (21 x 11 x 3.5cm).
• Sift all the dry ingredients together: flour, milk powder, soda bicarbonate, baking powder, mixed spice and salt.  Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract until thick and pale. Beat in mashed banana.  With the mixer on low speed, add sifted dry ingredients.  Then gradually add in oil and mix until combined.  Finally fold in chopped walnuts and choc chips.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for an hour or until cooked.