Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

(A)
2 eggs
100g oil
100g brown sugar
40g caster sugar
165g (1 cup) grated zucchini
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

(B)
190g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
30g pecan, chopped
50g mixed dried cranberries & blueberries

• Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
• Beat eggs until frothy.  Gradually add in sugars and beat until thick and pale.
• Then beat in oil slowly while the mixer is still running. 
• Add in vanilla extract and beat to just combined.
• Add in grated zucchini and mix until just incorporated.
• With a spatula, fold in ingredients (B).
• Bake in a lined 20 x 10 cm loaf pan for about an hour or until cooked.

Butter-Pandan Marbled Cake

Ingredients:

250g butter, softened

180g caster sugar

4 eggs (60g each), room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

190g plain flour

60g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

60g coconut milk

1/2 tsp pandan paste

• Preheat oven to 170 deg C.  Grease and line an 8 inch round cake pan.
• Sift plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt together.  Set aside.
• Beat the butter until soft.  Then add in sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time and beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.
• With the mixer on slow speed, alternately add in the flour mixture and coconut milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Divide batter into two portions.  Add pandan paste into one portion and mix to just combined.
• Place a spoon of the plain batter onto the middle of the cake pan and top it with a spoonful of the pandan batter. Continue with alternating batters, making sure to keep placing them into the centre with each addition.
• Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Leave the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

Crispy Roasted Pork Belly (脆皮燒肉)

The key to a classic Chinese roast with golden brown, blistered and crunchy crackling lies in the dryness of the skin and also a searing hot oven to begin with to get the crackling going.

There are many theories about crackling - brushing the skin with vinegar, scalding the skin, scoring the skin before oiling and rubbing salt, etc etc.  I followed these theories before but the results were not consistent.  Sometimes I would get very crispy crackling but other times I got some hard and unblistered crackling ... until a friend who kindly shared her recipe with me. 
  

To get the perfect crackling - 

• I left my marinated pork to dry out uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. 

• Then I rubbed a generous amount of oil all over the skin before scattering enough salt to cover the entire surface.  The oil will start to heat up in the extremely hot oven (230 deg C) and the salt will begin to draw out the moisture and the skin itself will start to crack, puff and bubble like little blisters.

• After 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 200 deg C.  The rule of thumb is to allow 25 minutes per 500g of pork.  

Ingredients:
2 slabs of pork belly (1.5kg)
oil
salt

Marinade:
2 pieces of red fermented beancurd (nam yue) - mashed
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp five-spiced powder
2 tsp sugar

• Wash the pork and pat dry with kitchen towel.
• In a small bowl, combine the marinade ingredients and mix well.  
• Turn the pork skin-side down on a rack and using the tip of a knife, prick all over the pork.
• Rub the marinade evenly all over, including the sides (but not the skin).  
• Place the pork, skin-side up in a tray or a container and wipe the skin thoroughly with paper towel.  Leave the pork in the refrigerator, uncovered overnight.  
• Bring the pork to room temperature before roasting (at least 2 hours).
• The skin will dry out after refrigerated overnight.  If not, give it a little blow-dry with hair dryer. (The drier the skin, the better the cackling when roasted).
• Preheat oven to 230 deg C.
• Place pork, skin-side up on a rack set over a roasting pan.  
• Drizzle oil all over the skin of the pork, then sprinkle enough salt to fully cover the entire skin.  
• Put the pork into the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
• Then reduce the oven to 200 deg C and continue roasting for another 50 - 55 mins.
• Remove meat from the oven and allow to rest for 10 - 15 mins before cutting.  Brush away excess salt.  

For easier cleaning after roasting, I prefer to use my Turbo Oven which is similar to the fan-forced convection oven.