tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2080625513505392512024-03-10T07:45:09.103-07:00The new art of bakingReese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-32753012480210644122013-06-09T17:43:00.000-07:002013-06-09T17:43:29.883-07:00Putu Piring - Malaysian Steamed Palm Sugar Rice Cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I heart putu piring. Seriously, that is like the best Malay dessert out there among the millions of desserts they have come up with. A note, however, this is not one of the easiest dessert to make. For a start, getting the right texture of the flour is extremely important before you start steaming the kueh. If the flour is too dry, you will get a ton of birds feed, get what I mean. If the flour turns out too wet, you will get a clump of really hard mass of rice flour with palm sugar. Definitely not good eats.<br />
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If you happen to chance upon one of the vendors selling this type of dessert in Malaysia, they make it look really easy. Don't be fooled by them. Making this dessert is a lot harder than what they make it looks like. However, with patience and practice, you will get there.<br />
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Why must you attempt to make this dessert at home? Well, if you live in an area where there is an expert selling it, I'd say forget about making this dessert. You will be better off buying it from them. If you don't have one close to where you live, well, there is nothing left to do but to try your darndest to make this kueh then.</div>
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<b>Putu Piring</b><br />
(Makes about 15 pieces)<br />
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<i>Ingredients</i><br />
250g rice flour (I prefer the Thai's Erawan brand)<br />
4 pieces of pandan leaves, cut into 4-inch section<br />
160ml - 180ml hot water<br />
1/4 tsp salt<br />
<br />
<i>For the Filling</i><br />
150g of grated palm sugar<br />
<br />
<i>For the Topping</i><br />
100g of grated coconut<br />
2 pandan leaves, cut into 4-inch section<br />
A pinch of salt<br />
<br />
15 (3x3) banana leaves squares<br />
<br />
<b>Directions</b></div>
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1. In a pan, toast the flour with pandan leaves over medium heat. Stir flour around the pan to avoid burning. The flour is ready when the pandan leaves in the mix becomes dry. Set aside to cool.</div>
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2. Prepare the topping. Have a steamer ready with boiling water. Add salt and pandan leaves to the grated coconut. Stir to combine. Steam for 5 mins. Set aside to cool.</div>
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3. Grate the palm sugar. Set aside to be used later.</div>
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4. Once the flour has cooled off, sieve the flour into a clean bowl.</div>
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5. Combine hot water with salt. If you have a spray bottle, put it to good use here. Carefully, add water into the flour mixture. If you are using a spray bottle, mist the flour while tossing it around to moisten. Continue to add water into the flour until you can no longer find dry flour at the bottom of the mix. (Note: You will see clumps of flour forming. This is a good sign.)</div>
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6. Next, you will need to sieve the flour again. Using a spatula, press the clumps of flour through a fine sieve. The resulting flour should come out looking like coarse breadcrumbs or very fine pearls of uncooked sago.<br />
7. In a steamer, bring a large amount of water to a boil.</div>
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8. In a putu piring mold or a homemade converted mold, put about a tablespoon of flour onto the mold. Resist the temptation to press the flour into the mold.</div>
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9. Top with palm sugar.</div>
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10. Pile on enough flour to cover the sugar and gently push away excess.<br />
11. Wrap a cheesecloth over the flour mix, and gently invert the cloth onto a steamer tray.<br />
12. Steam for about 3 mins.<br />
13. Remove the kueh from the steamer. Top with grated coconut and a piece of banana leaf.</div>
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14. Gently, invert the kueh onto a plate. Carefully, peel the cheesecloth off the kueh.<br />
15. Putu piring all ready to serve.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-37083638608581062632013-06-03T08:16:00.001-07:002013-06-03T08:16:30.898-07:00Buttery, Flaky Croissants<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Time to expand my baking horizon, and by expanding I am referring to pushing my baking ability to uncharted territory, i.e. making flaky butter pastry. Case in point, making croissants at home. Sure, you have made over a hundred loaves of breads of all kind, bake tons of cookies by now, a mountain of cakes of all sizes, medley of pies, but croissants?<br />
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Sure, if you google for croissants recipe, and I mean the type that you make from scratch and not open up a can of dough and roll up, it seems easy enough. The biggest hurdle will probably be patience. Yes, time and patience, you will need lots of those.<br />
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I have given making croissants at home some thoughts before, a lot of thoughts, really. In the beginning, I wasn't quite sure if I will be able to do it. Well, I was new to baking. Just yesterday, a family friend asked if it was possible for me to make Danish pastry for her. Yeah, I know, you might be saying by now that they are two different doughs, but are they really?<br />
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I remember some time ago, having had a taste of the best flaky danish pastry I have ever had in my life at some part in Europe. And yes, the pastry reminded me of a really good croissants, only it was adorned with half a peach and pastry cream on it. A good pastry is still a good pastry and I betcha, if I use the croissant dough to make a danish pastry, it will be one of the better version from what you can find out here in MA.<br />
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After reading countless recipes on a variety of croissant dough, I have decided to stick with America's Test Kitchen version. Well, they tested the recipe many times after all, and if they published one, that ought to be foolproof, right? Fingers crossed. In this case, I'd be crossing my prehensile toes too.<br />
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Note: This is a 2 day process. If you are planning to serve the croissants for a gathering, party, or office meeting, please plan for at least 48 hours ahead. Yeah, did I mention that a lot of patience is required? True, you can expedite the process by letting your dough rest for 2 hours instead of overnight after the two folding process, but really, you have come this far. Why not put in a lot more patience for this croissants to elevate from good to great!<br />
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Note: Cold! The dough and butter have to remain cold to give your final product that nice, flaky texture. If you are unsure, place dough in the freezer for 30 minutes before working with it. If the butter in the dough melts, you will not get the light flaky croissants you were hoping for.<br />
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<i><b>Ingredients</b></i> (Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)<br />
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<u>For Dough</u><br />
3 Tbsp butter<br />
1 3/4 cup of whole milk<br />
4 tsp of rapid rise yeast<br />
4 1/2 cup of flour (I used King Arthur's all purpose. It has higher protein content)<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
2 tsp Kosher salt<br />
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<u>For Butter Block </u><br />
12 oz European-style butter, very cold (I took mine out from the freezer)<br />
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<u>Egg Wash</u><br />
1 large egg, beaten<br />
1 tsp cold water<br />
A pinch of salt<br />
<br />
<b>Directions</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>For the Dough:</b><br />
1. Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat.<br />
2. Once butter has melted, remove it from the stove. Immediately add in cold milk.<br />
3. Add the butter-milk mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add in all the yeast.<br />
4. Next, you will add in all the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer. Attach dough hook to your mixer and put it on low for 2-3 minutes till a cohesive dough is formed.<br />
5. Once dough has come together, turn speed up to medium low (Speed 4, if you are using KitchenAid Professional 600 model) and knead for 1 minute.<br />
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<b>Note: If kneading by hand, add all ingredients to a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula till a cohesive dough has formed. Knead with hand on a lightly floured work surface till you get a smooth satiny dough, about 10-15 minutes)</b><br />
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6. Remove bowl from stand mixer and dough hook. Wrap with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes.<br />
7. Once dough has rested, remove dough onto parchment paper on work table.<br />
8. Using your finger tips, shape dough into a 10" x 7" rectangle. Wrap dough tightly with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.<br />
9. Transfer dough into freezer for 30 minutes prior to combining the dough with the butter block.<br />
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Note: Reserve the parchment paper to help work with the butter block in the next step.<br />
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<b>For the Butter Block</b><br />
1. Fold a 24" parchment paper to half. Then fold in the three open side to get a 8" parchment square.<br />
2. Place 12oz of very cold butter onto the used parchment paper, reserved earlier from the dough making process above.<br />
3. Using a rolling pin, beat the butter into a rough square, smaller than 8". (Seriously, beat the daylight out of the cold butter till they are pliable but still cold.)<br />
4. Transfer butter onto the 8" parchment square and wrap tightly.<br />
5. Using your rolling pin, roll the butter through the parchment square till it is even. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or longer.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Building the Layers</b><br />
1. Once dough and butter have chilled for the requisite time, we can begin to build the layers of our final product.<br />
2. Sprinkle flour lightly on a clean work surface.<br />
3. Remove dough from the fridge, unwrap dough onto the flour surface.<br />
4. Using your rolling pin, roll dough lengthwise to form a 17" x 8" rectangle. Measure to ensure you get the correct length and width. Use a bench scraper to help you tighten the dough up to the measurements.<br />
5. Once that is achieved, remove the butter block from the refrigerator. Unwrap the parchment and placed the butter block at the center of the dough.<br />
6. Fold both sides of dough till they meet at the center. Pinch to seal with your fingers.<br />
7. Using your rolling pin, press the two sides at the edges firmly to seal.<br />
8. Roll out lengthwise to 24" x 8" rectangle.<br />
9. Fold in thirds, like a business letter.<br />
10. Place dough onto parchment paper and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.<br />
11. Place dough in the freezer for 30 minutes.<br />
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<b>Second Folding</b><br />
1. After the 30 minutes freezer time, unwrap dough onto a lightly floured work surface.<br />
2. Roll dough out lengthwise into a 24" x 8" rectangle.<br />
3. Fold dough in thirds again. Place on parchment paper and wrap tightly with plastic.<br />
4. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours, preferably overnight.<br />
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<b>Shaping</b><br />
You must be thinking, finally, I get to shape my croissants. Not so fast! After the refrigerator time, you have to now transfer the dough from the refrigerator to the freezer and let it freeze for 30 minutes. Remember, the dough has to be really cold when you are working with it. If the butter melts into the dough at anytime during the folding and shaping process, you can kiss the flaky layers goodbye.<br />
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1. After the 30 minutes freezer time, you can now play with the dough.<br />
2. On a lightly floured work surface, unwrap your dough and roll it into a 18" x 16" rectangle, with the long side parallel to the edge of the counter. Fold dough into half, from upper edge to lower edge.<br />
3. Using your bench scraper, mark dough at 3-inch intervals along bottom edge with bench scraper.<br />
4. Moving to the top edge, mark dough at 1 1/2-inch intervals from left. Using this at your reference point, measure out 3-inch intervals and mark it with your bench scraper.<br />
5. Using a pizza cutter, start from the lower left corner and cut dough from point-to-point.<br />
6. You will get 12 triangles, and 5 diamonds. Don't throw away the scraps, something good is going to come out of it, I promise. Place the scrap dough aside, wrap in plastic individually and place it back in the refrigerator.<br />
7. Using your pizza cutter, slice the diamond shape dough into half. That will give you 10 more triangles. All in all, you will end up with 22 triangular dough ready to be shaped into croissants.<br />
8. Working with one triangle shaped dough at a time, pick the dough up with both hands, one at the short length of the dough and another at the tip. Stretch the dough out gently.<br />
9. Using your pizza cutter, make a 1-inch slit at the base of the triangle (the short length). Holding the two edges you have just created by slicing the base of the triangle, roll it towards the tips.<br />
10. The croissant roll is taking shape now. Gently, tucked the tip of the dough underneath the rolled croissant dough.<br />
11. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat process with the remaining dough.<br />
12. You should place about 10 croissants on a full sheet baking pan, allowing room between croissants to rise.<br />
13. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Yeah, more waiting. I know your patience is running out at this point, but really, you should wait.<br />
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<b>Baking</b><br />
1. Preheat oven to 425F. If you are baking two sheets of croissants at once, adjust one rack to the upper third of oven and one to lower third of oven. If baking one pan at a time, just leave rack in the middle of oven.<br />
2. Once oven has come to temperature, combine beaten egg with salt, and cold water. Lightly brush dough with egg wash.<br />
3. Place dough in oven and reduce temperature to 400F immediately. Bake croissants for 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway.<br />
4. Cool on wire rack before serving, haha, or just bring out a stick of butter and enjoy!<br />
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Yup, more butter. Hey, I worked really hard into making these.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-77560160320535975522013-06-03T00:00:00.000-07:002013-06-03T08:19:09.255-07:00Char Kueh Kak - Malaysian Fried Rice Cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Comfort food is a funny thing. It can be something that you don't find easily these days or just plain accessible at the grocery store. Whatever it is, there is something about this comfort food which brings us back to childhood. Ah....those happy times where you have no worries in the world, where the only crisis in your life is whether mom and dad did get you what you want for birthday or Christmas.<br />
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Having moved from Malaysia to the States some years back, my definition of comfort food is definitely something which I cannot find at any grocery store here. Every now and then, a candy from yesteryear will pop up at some Asian grocery stores near my house. But that just won't do cos unlike many children my age at the time, I have never develop a sweet tooth. My kinda comfort food have always been savory in nature, call me weird.<br />
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One of them is Char Kueh Kak. If you are from Malaysia, and have either live in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, you will know exactly what I mean. No, not the stir fried radish cake you can get a dim sum place cos those are radish cake. A true blue char kueh kak you can find in a roadside eatery is made out of nothing more than plain rice cake stir fried with preserved cabbage, beansprouts, chives/scallions, and an egg. They probably use a ton of dark soy sauce to give it that glistening dark color, and yes, they use pork lard to stir fry that tasty concoction.<br />
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Should you have anything against pork fat, stop reading right now. I mean, now.<br />
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To make a true blue KL/Penang hawker style Char Kueh Kak, you will need to make your homemade rendered pork fat with the crispy bits. No, your primary care physician and cardiologist should not know about this. Heck, my primary care physician will probably fire an array of reasons on why I should not eat this. Whatever he doesn't know, won't hurt him, right?<br />
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Truly, he can't say a thing about my minuscule consumption of pork lard to make this dish when he himself is a deep fried chicken fanatic?<br />
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To make the authentic Char Kueh Kak I so love as a child, there are some works involved. Rest assure, all your hard work shall be duly rewarded if you follow this recipe. I promise!<br />
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<b>Malaysian Homemade Char Kueh Kak</b><br />
(Adapted from <a href="http://mintyskitchen.blogspot.com/2012/08/fried-cubic-noodle-char-kuih-kak.html">Minty's Kitchen</a>)<br />
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<i>For the Kueh</i><br />
110g Rice Flour<br />
2 Tbsp Tapioca Starch<br />
1 Tbsp Wheat Starch<br />
1/2 cup of cold water<br />
1 1/2 cup of boiling water<br />
1 Tbsp oil<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
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<i>For the Char Kueh Kak</i><br />
3 Tbsp Rendered Pork Fats<br />
3-4 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce<br />
1/2 - 1 tsp Garlic Chilli Sauce<br />
2 Cups Beansprouts<br />
2 Stalks Scallions<br />
A handful of chives<br />
1 Tbsp Preserved cabbage (Chai poh)<br />
2 eggs, lightly beaten<br />
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<b>Directions</b></div>
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1. Make the kueh. Preheat a steamer filled with water half way. Let the water come up to a rolling boil and turn the heat down to medium low.</div>
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2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine all the kueh ingredients except for the boiling water. Whisk tills get a smooth thick batter. Then, slowly stir in the boiling water while whisking vigorously. </div>
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3. Place a 9-inch oiled pan I the steamer and let it heat up for about a min. Slowly, pour in the batter mix.</div>
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4. Steam the kueh for 25-30 mins till a toothpick inserted into the center of the kueh comes out clean. Remove and let cool completely.</div>
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5. Once cooled, cut the kueh into bite size pieces. Store in a large ziplock bag and refrigerate overnight.</div>
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6. The next day, cut up the pork fat into small pieces and render the fat out till u get about 2-3 tablespoon of liquid fat. You can do this by placing the fat in a non-stick pan over low heat for 10-15mins.<br />
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7.Prepare all the other ingredients. </div>
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8. Using the same non- stick pan, add a tablespoon of the pork fat and pan fried the kueh till they turn lightly golden brown and a hard skin is formed. This step is important in order to avoid mushy char kueh kak.<br />
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9. Pan fried the kueh in batches. Set aside.</div>
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10. Next, in the same pan, add in the remainder of the pork fat and crunchy bits. Turn heat up to medium.</div>
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11. Saute the chai poh, chinese sausage (if using), and garlic till it is lightly browned.</div>
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12. Add in the garlic chilli sauce and stir fried till you get a nice spicy aroma.</div>
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13. Add in all the kueh and dark soy sauce. Stir till all the kueh has a nice dark color to it.</div>
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14. Next goes the bean sprouts, scallions, and chives. Continue to stir fry till the bean sprouts wilted slightly. Bout a minute.</div>
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15. Using your spatula, make a space in the center of the pan. Crank up the heat all the way to high. Stir in the lightly beaten eggs. Count to 20.</div>
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16. Immediately, cover the eggs with the kueh and vegetables. Stir fry all the contents till you can see specks of eggs assimilated with the rest of the ingredients.</div>
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17. Dish out and serve whilst hot.</div>
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-3640906758903617682013-05-24T12:24:00.000-07:002013-06-03T08:14:58.277-07:00Swiss Style Chicken Wings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are beginning to wonder why this dish is called Swiss-style chicken wings, don't ask. I have no idea where the name originates from, however, as far as I am concern, this dish was really popular when I was young. Go to any "tai chow", Cantonese equivalent of roadside eateries cooking dishes to order back in the days, and the owner/cook will recommend this dish to his customers particularly if there are children in the group.<br />
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The wings are heavily coated in a mix of salty sweet soy concoction, seriously, who doesn't love salt and sugar. Since Memorial Day cookout is around the corner, I figure why not make this dish for the company. True, it doesn't involve cooking the wings on the grill which contradicts with the official Memorial Day choice of cooking method. Nevertheless, who doesn't love chicken wings. There is something inherently wrong with a person who doesn't like chicken wings, pretty much like people who doesn't like chicken, period.<br />
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I can't take credit for this recipe, after all, I did copy the recipe from a fellow food blogger who goes by the name <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYkkVvuG4TI">wantanmien</a> Funny, cos the name when translate from Cantonese to English means Chinese wanton noodle. I guess she really likes noodle. I have seen many adaptations of the recipe on the Internet but hers come closes to my memory of the Swiss-style chicken wings of yesteryear. OMG, that makes me sound so old.<br />
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Without further adieu, here's the recipe.</div>
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<b>Swiss Style Chicken Wings (adapted from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYkkVvuG4TI">wantanmien</a>)</b><br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
8 whole wings, sectioned, tips discarded<br />
1 Tbsp chopped ginger<br />
1 Tbsp of oil<br />
1/3 to 1/2 piece of Chinese cane sugar (substitute with 2-3 Tbsp of dark brown sugar)<br />
1 Tbsp of canola oil<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
water enough to boil wings<br />
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil<br />
Chopped scallions for garnishing<br />
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<i>For the spice pouch (you can use either cheesecloth or disposable tea bags)</i><br />
2 scallions, white part only, lightly smashed<br />
1 star anise<br />
1/2 tsp of Szechuan peppercorn<br />
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<i>Sauce Mix</i><br />
1 Tbsp soy sauce<br />
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce<br />
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce<br />
1 Tbsp rum<br />
1 Tbsp oyster sauce<br />
1 Tbsp Ketchup<br />
1/3 tsp salt<br />
50 ml water<br />
100 ml water<br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Directions</b></div>
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1. Wash all the chicken wings, careful to remove any visible feathers. Drain in a colander.<br />
2. In a pot, bring enough water to a boil. Place 1/2 tsp of salt into the water and all the wings into the pot.<br />
3. Let water come back up to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 mins. Turn off heat and let wings steamed for 3 mins.</div>
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4. Drained wings in a colander till dry.</div>
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5. Prepare the sauce mix. Combine all the ingredients, except for the 100ml water in a bowl. Stir till all ingredients melded.</div>
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6. Heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat. Place a tablespoon of canola oil into pan, the chopped ginger and the spice pouch. Saute for 1 minute.<br />
7. Slowly, add in all the chicken wings and the cane sugar.</div>
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8. Pan fry the wings on both sides till lightly brown and sugar is all caramelized.</div>
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9. Add in the sauce mix and continue to pan fry wings till both sides are coated with the sauce. Cover and cook for 3 mins over medium low heat.<br />
10. Add in the 100 ml water. Cover the pan and let it cook for 5 mins.<br />
11. Flip the wings over gently, cover and continue cooking for 5 mins.<br />
12. Check to see if all wings are coated with the sauce. Flip wings onto the other side to caramelize. Cover and cook for another 3 mins.<br />
13. Once sauce has reduced to the desired consistency, turn off heat.<br />
14. Let wings sit in the covered pan for 10 mins. </div>
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15. Arrange wings on a platter. </div>
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16. If u have leftover sauce in the pan, bring sauce up to a boil over medium heat.</div>
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17. Stir constantly till sauce reduces to a thick glaze.</div>
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18. Pour sauce over wings.</div>
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19. Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp of sesame oil over wings. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-83461430314233663562013-03-25T08:26:00.000-07:002013-03-25T08:26:52.735-07:00Discovery of Sourdough Starter and Dealing with Waste<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently ventured into the world of what I once thought was the improbable.......making home grown sourdough starter.<br />
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BTW, I found out online that one is supposed to name their sourdough starter for good luck, albeit two days later after I started my sourdough. Long story short, I decided to name my sourdough starter "Starter"! A little unimaginative, yeah, but hey, Starter and I are co-existing with each other just fine.<br />
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It took me all of 5 days to culture my starter and it was well ready by Day 6. Now, every recipe will tell you that you need to discard a cup of your starter (or however many ounces) after so many days before you feed it again with filtered water and flour in order for your starter to grow.<br />
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I get that. I really get that. Yeast being a microorganism in the air and they need food and water to grow, yada yada yada.....I am fine with that. However, like many bakers, I am not fine with the fact that I have to discard that one cup of starter daily after Day 3 in order for the starter to grow.<br />
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Seriously, have you checked the price of a pound of flour lately? Besides, I have grown very fond of Starter, and I just can't bear the thought of throwing away a big part of Starter.<br />
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In come the world wide web search on how to use the unfed starter. There is hope for Starter's spare existence after all.<br />
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The answer: Sourdough Waffle using unfed starter by King Arthur Flour.<br />
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If you have never have a taste of sourdough waffle, you are in for a HUGE treat! The sourdough waffle is crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and oh, so light on your stomach. It's the perfect Sunday breakfast for the family.<br />
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Take a look at the deep pockets, they can hold a ton of maple syrup in it. Yum!<br />
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<b>Sourdough Waffle Recipe using Unfed Sourdough Starter</b> (from <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sourdough-waffles-or-pancakes-recipe">King Arthur Flour</a>)<br />
<span id="IngredientSet" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"></span><br />
<h4 id="IngredientHeading" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-transform: lowercase; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
overnight sponge</h4>
<ul class="ingredient-list" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.825em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em -24px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">2 cups <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-unbleached-all-purpose-flour" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(52, 158, 219, 0.329412); border: 0px; color: #9c661f; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour</a></li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">2 tablespoons sugar</li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">2 cups buttermilk</li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">1 cup <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/classic-fresh-sourdough-starter-1-oz" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(52, 158, 219, 0.329412); border: 0px; color: #9c661f; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">sourdough starter</a>, unfed</li>
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waffle or pancake batter</h4>
<ul class="ingredient-list" style="border: 0px; color: #282828; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.825em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.5; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em -24px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">all of the overnight sponge</li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">2 large eggs</li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter</li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">3/4 teaspoon salt</li>
<li id="IngredientLine" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.2; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">1 teaspoon baking soda</li>
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<span style="line-height: 15px;"><b>Directions</b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15px;">1. Make the overnight sponge. Combine the flour, sugar, buttermilk, and the cup of unfed starter.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15px;">2. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit at room temperature overnight. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15px;">3. The next morning, combine the two beaten eggs, salt, and baking soda in a clean bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the overnight sponge. Stir gently with a rubber spatula till everything is well blended. Don't overmix or you will end up with tough waffles.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15px;">4. Preheat your waffle iron. Pour in a generous half cup of batter into your waffle iron and let it cook for 3 mins 45 seconds. That is how long it takes for me to get a crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside sourdough waffle. Your waffle iron time may vary.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">5. Next, smell check. If you own a lazy red mini dachshund who loves to lay in her bed in a sunspot but found her taking those precious steps to stand within steps of your waffle iron on the kitchen counter, something delicious must be cooking.</span></div>
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6. All done. Serve with butter and a healthy drizzle of maple syrup. Who am I kidding, drizzle? Serve it with a river of maple syrup.</div>
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-6536226601891701942013-03-12T10:23:00.000-07:002013-03-12T10:23:31.887-07:00Asian Hotdog Buns - the poolish starter dough method<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bread baking using a pre-fermented starter dough is nothing new to me. I have made a few loaves of really good ciabatta using the biga starter before and some noteworthy baguettes using the French poolish (No, it is not a bad word!)<br />
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So, why haven't I incorporate those methods to make the ubiquitous Asian buns which my family loves so much? Because I have never thought of it. Or maybe I have been so comfortable using the <a href="http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2011/01/water-roux-craze.html">Asian Water Roux</a> bread making method that I am biased towards it.<br />
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Why venture beyond my comfort zone? Well, it is about time and you can always learn something new.<br />
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In come this recipe from <a href="http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/overnight-soft-bun-dough-16-hour-poolish-version/">Corner Cafe</a> ,whose wisdom to feature the article of bread making using a 16-hour bread poolish method in making Asian buns, a true gem in my book. That just opens up a new can of worms entirely. You mean I can actually incorporate other cultures bread making techniques into the Asian bun making frontier? Boy, oh boy! The dawn of a new Asian buns baking era has just begin, at least for me.<br />
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Just like the Water Roux method, the poolish buns give you that soft, moist, fluffy bun texture. However, I find that by using the poolish method, the buns seem to have a far more superior result compared to the water roux method, this come from a die hard water roux Asian bread making advocate.<br />
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The dough is extremely pliable, very easy to work with even for a beginner. The buns seem to stay really moist even the next day, unlike the water roux method whereby you will begin to see that the bread has dried out somewhat the following day, even if you store them in a ziploc freezer bag.<br />
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The drawback, of course, is the 17 hour total waiting time before you can use the poolish. To make the poolish, you have to first combine the following in a clean deep bowl.<br />
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<b>Poolish Starter</b><br />
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<b>150g bread flour</b><br />
<b>150g lukewarm water</b><br />
<b>1/8 tsp of rapid rise or instant yeast</b><br />
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Once you have combined all the ingredients, it has to be left in a warm place for 1 hour, covered. After which, it has to be stored in the refrigerator for a total of 16 hours prior to use. You heard me right, 16 hours. I dreaded the waiting period in my first attempt. As any bakers out there will tell you, when you chance upon a new recipe which you want to give it a try, you want to see the yield almost immediately. Preferably, the same day.<br />
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Nah ah! Not with this recipe. You have to ensure that you sit cool as a cucumber for 16 hours while the starter has time to rest and ferment overnight. To circumvent anxiousness and my inability to wait patiently for the long duration of time, I made my first batch of poolish the night before. More like at 6 in the evening, and that will give me a ready batch of poolish to work with in the morning. At least after 9am. No one should bake before 9am, unless you work in a commercial setting.<br />
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Then the fun begins.<br />
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1. Measure out your dry ingredients. Here you will need<br />
<b>250g bread flour</b><br />
<b>100g cake flour (or regular all purpose)</b><br />
<b>15g milk powder</b><br />
<b>50g sugar (if you prefer a sweeter dough, increase the sugar to 70g)</b><br />
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2. To this dry mix, you will add in<br />
<b>1 egg, beaten</b><br />
<b>100 to 120 ml of lukewarm water (use milk if you have omitted the milk powder in the step above)</b><br />
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3. Combine all ingredients till you get a slightly sticky dough. Knead to get a smooth dough. You can do this in a bread machine, a stand mixer or simply knead it by hand. I have done all three methods and found that kneading using the stand mixer will give you the best result.<br />
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4. Leave dough in a well greased bowl and cover with a clean towel. Let dough proof for 1 hour in a warm, dry place.<br />
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5. After the first proofing is done, take dough out and place it on a clean, lightly floured work surface. Divide dough equally into 12 portions. If you are making plain rolls, divide it into 16 portions. Roll dough into a tight ball and let rest for 10 mins before shaping.<br />
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6. Here's when the fun begins. I have learned from the aforementioned blog on how to shape your hotdog buns in the form of a croissant, sort of. First, you will want to roll the dough into a carrot shape.<br />
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Using a rolling pin. stretch the dough out thin, start from the narrow end and work your way to the wide end.<br />
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7. Place a hotdog on the wide end of the dough, the dough need not encase the entire length of the hotdog.<br />
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Roll the dough towards the narrow end, you will end up with a croissant-shaped bun.<br />
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8. Placed rolled hotdog buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment, or lightly greased with butter, cover and let rise for 30 mins.<br />
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9. Preheat oven to 355F. Brush egg wash lightly on top of rolls. Bake for a full 22 mins, turning the pan halfway to ensure even browning. Let cool on wire rack before serving.<br />
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You can also change the filling to ham and cheese. Those are always a big hit at our house.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-82076766748937320992013-03-03T17:48:00.006-08:002013-03-04T10:34:45.519-08:00World's Best Cake, Kvaefjord kake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As proclaimed by the Norwegians, Kvaefjord cake is the best cake in the world - Verdens Beste! Naturally, if they claimed it as the best, I will have to bake it to figure out why and how. Thankfully, after going through tons of recipes online, I happened to find one from the pNorwegian embassy pastry chef in D.C.<br />
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The best part about her recipe is that it has been converted into U.S. measurement, making it easier to replicate at home. So, one free weekend, and the obsession that kicks in to try my hand on the cake later, here it is.<br />
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The meringue part was definitely impressive. It makes the whole cake looks elegant and adds a nice touch of sweetness to the cake without being overly sweet. Nicely done! Absolutely love the vanilla pudding and whipped cream filling. With the addition of strawberries in the center, it just came out sublime. Light and airy, the best part is it doesn't weigh you down after you had a slice or two or three. Will I make this cake again? You betcha!<br />
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Verdens Beste Kake (Kvaefjord Cake)<br />
Recipes adapted from <a href="http://www.norway.org/News_and_events/Culture/Food/worlds_best_cake/">here</a><br />
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Recipe For “Kvæfjord-Cake”:</strong><br /><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 1 - First layer of base </strong>5½ ounces butter<br />¾ cup sugar<br />6 egg yolks<br />1 teaspoon vanilla sugar<br />6 tablespoons milk<br />1 cup all-purpose flour<br />1½ teaspoons baking powder</div>
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Whisk the sugar and butter until smooth and pale. Fold in the other ingredients. Mix well. Spread on a 14 x 17 inch baking pan lined with baking/greaseproof paper.</div>
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 2 - Second layer of base (meringue)</strong>6 egg whites<br />1 cup sugar</div>
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Whisk sugar and egg whites together until stiff peaks form (meringue). Spread evenly over base made in step 1. Sprinkle 4 ounces sliced almonds on top of the meringue.</div>
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Bake the two layers together at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in lower part of the oven, for 25-30 minutes.</div>
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 3 - Filling</strong><br />1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (I used homemade vanilla pudding)<br />1 cup heavy cream</div>
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To make filling, whip the cream and make the vanilla pudding separately. Then mix the cream and vanilla pudding gently together, and refridgerate until cold and firm. Let the cake cool down after removing it from the oven. Cut it in half. Spread the filling on top of one half, and cover with the other. Garnish with fruit or berries.</div>
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-46163015892239530742013-02-27T13:19:00.001-08:002013-02-27T13:19:09.284-08:00Skoleboller - Norwegian Sweet Custard Buns with Coconut<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When one perfect batch of <a href="http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2013/02/hveteboller-norwegian-cardamom-sweet.html">Norwegian Cardamom Sweet Buns</a> is enough to jolt you out of the boring cinnamon buns world (okay, I may have exaggerated the cardamom buns a little, it may rival the potency of a good cinnamon buns but never replace it), a good baker, <i>read obsessive compulsive</i>, will strive to outdo herself.<br />
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What is more perfect than to make a variation of the famous Norwegian Hveteboller?<br />
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In come Skoleboller, loose translation reads as School buns. I believe they called it school buns because all children seems to enjoy it, and the school cafeterias serve them in droves. The children became adults and they continue to eat them. Next to the regular boller at the bakery and convenience stores in Oslo, you will find the Skoleboller, which, a true fan of these babies will tell you that it is the best sweet bun ever created.<br />
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What is not to like of these vanilla custard filled buns? A pudding center with the bun surface surrounding it smeared with icing sugar and topped with a good layer of coconuts. Perfection, I am telling you. I served these to my 3-year old niece, and she proclaimed it, "Yummy!" (Apparently, that is the highest honor you will get from a toddler)<br />
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Skoleboller (Norwegian School Buns)<br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<i>For the Buns</i><br />
One batch of <a href="http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2013/02/hveteboller-norwegian-cardamom-sweet.html">basic cardamom bun recipe</a><br />
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<i>For the Filling</i><br />
I 3.4oz box instant vanilla pudding<br />
1 cup of cold milk<br />
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<i>For the Toppings</i><br />
2 cups of icing sugar<br />
enough milk to make a thick spreadable icing<br />
1 cup of coconut flakes (I prefer sweetened)<br />
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<b>Directions</b><br />
1. Prepare cardamom buns dough following the <a href="http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2013/02/hveteboller-norwegian-cardamom-sweet.html">recipe here</a>. After you have divided the dough into 12 equal portions and let it rise for another 30 mins, this is when the skoleboller process begins.<br />
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2. Prepare the vanilla pudding. In a clean bowl, combine the instant vanilla pudding powder with 1 cup of cold milk. Whisk for a min or two till filling is set. Place in the refrigerator till you are ready to use them. You can opt to make homemade vanilla pudding for this recipe.<br />
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Please remember that the pudding has to be thick, hence the reduction in milk used to the instant pudding powder ratio above.<br />
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3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Using your thumb or the back of a soup spoon, make an indentation on the buns, deep enough to hold at least 1 tablespoon of custard filling. Make a bigger well if you really like vanilla custard with buns.<br />
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4. Spoon the vanilla custard into the indentation you have made.<br />
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5. Brush the surface of the buns with milk. Bake for 15-20 minutes till bread is golden brown but before the vanilla custard is browned. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.<br />
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6. In a bowl, combine icing sugar and milk to make a thick, spreadable sugar topping. Remember, you want it to look white and thick.<br />
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7. In a separate bowl or plate, place about 1 cup of coconut flakes. Dip the surface of the bun onto the coconut flakes and press down lightly to get a good coating of coconut on the bun.<br />
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8. Voila, you have just make the famous Norwegian Skoleboller. Some blog sites also note that Skoleboller happens to be one of the first Norwegian food that is commonly loved by expatriate in Norway.<br />
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Note: This is not the healthiest buns in the world but a little indulgence goes a long way. For this recipe, I used a mix of white whole wheat flour and all purpose flour to make the buns to somewhat satisfy my conscience. The buns came out just as good.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-61702947839174850062013-02-25T06:33:00.001-08:002013-02-25T06:37:37.517-08:00Hveteboller - Norwegian Cardamom Sweet Buns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi hi!<br />
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I have just returned from my sojourn to Norway for a month and boy, was I influenced by their bread culture. Yup, you heard me right, bread culture. Bread, apparently, to a Norge, is not the white, hearty, bland, off the shelf variant that we are so used to getting at the store.<br />
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Bread to Norwegians is literally, life giving sustenance. I will explain why I said that. Do you know that a typical Norwegian daily diet consist of at least 7 servings of bread, 2 for breakfast, 2 for lunch, 3 for snack, and 2 more for dinner. I said at least because, well, some people eat more bread than others. And yes, they can have bread for dessert too. Fastelavnsbolle or Shrove Tide Bun, traditionally filled with whipped cream and refrigerated. Of course, there are many variants to the sweet buns these days given their growing economy including Kringles, Cinnamon rolls, and etc.<br />
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But back to my favorite of them abundance variations of bread in Norway, Hveteboller, the tiny little cardamom-scented sweet buns where you can buy 3 boller with a small coffee for NOK29 (about US$5) at all coffee shops and convenience stores in the city. Yup, they are huge fans of coffee too, the beverage of choice which they consumed almost religiously from morning till night. My kinda paradise, if you ask.<br />
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The best way to have the cardamom-scented bun is toasted with jam and slices of brunost, the Norwegian's famous brown cheese, which is literally not a cheese but more a by-product of cooking whey from goat cheese production till the mix caramelized and then shaped into blocks. Think Kraft singles and you will have a fairly rough idea of brunost. Except brunost has a caramel sweet taste to it, it sticks to the roof of your mouth, and it is strangely addictive.<br />
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If you have a Whole Foods outlet near you, go and get your brunost fix. I heard that you can find the Tine's Ski Queen brand sold under the name of geitost, which essentially is the same as brunost. Geitost being the old Norsk word for it. I still have ample supply of brunost from my trip to Norway, so, I have yet to wander to a local Whole Foods on my hunt for this strangely satisfying dessert cheese almost dairy produce. Not quite sure how much it will cost for a 2lb block but mine didn't come cheap either.<br />
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Back to the buns, if you are like me, you love the citrus-vanilla taste of cardamom, then I dare you to bake these boller (Norwegian for buns: boller-plural, bolle-singular). You can filled them with different fillings and bake them to other variant of boller but for the basics, I thought we can start with the popular Norwegian snack food of choice, Hveteboller.<br />
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<b>Norwegian Hveteboller - Cardamom-scented Sweet Buns</b><br />
<i>Makes 12</i><br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
1 1/2 cup of bread flour<br />
1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup for adjustment<br />
1/4 cup of butter<br />
1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup of sugar<br />
1 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup of lukewarm milk<br />
1 packet of active dry yeast or 75g of fresh cake yeast if you can find them<br />
1/4 tsp of salt<br />
1 1/2 tsp of freshly ground cardamom (or use your meat tenderizer to pound those cardamom seeds)<br />
Milk for brushing<br />
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<b>Directions</b><br />
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1. Microwave milk in a microwave dish on high for about 1 1/2 min. Combine butter into milk and stir till it melts. Let mixture cools to lukewarm (or you don't feel like you are burning your fingers when dipped into the mixture.)<br />
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2. Add in 1/8 cup of sugar and yeast. Let yeast blooms. It should take about a min if you have the temperature right. Longer, if the mixture is too cold, and trust me, you will see no action if the mixture is too hot. If the latter happens, throw the mixture out and start over.<br />
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3. In a clean bowl, measure out the 3 cups of flour mix. Add in the salt and stir to combine.<br />
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4. On a board, split the cardamom pods to obtain the seeds. Pound with a meat tenderizer or use your coffee grinder to get about 1 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom.<br />
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5. In a large bowl, pour in the milk, butter, sugar, and yeast mix that has bloomed.<br />
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6. Add in the flour mix and cardamom. Stir with a wooden spoon to obtain a soft dough that will leave the side of the bowl easy. You will need to add in about an additional 1/4 cup of flour to obtain the desired consistency. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough.<br />
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7. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm dry place for about 15 mins. After 15 mins, place dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 mins till you obtain a silky smooth bread dough that will not stick to your hands or work surface. Grease the bowl and the bread dough lightly. Cover with kitchen towel and let rise for another 45 mins or till dough has doubled in size.<br />
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8. Once dough has risen enough, divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape dough into rounds and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment (or you can just grease your baking sheet). Again, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 mins till dough has risen.<br />
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9. Preheat the oven at 375F. Brush bread dough with milk. Bake in the oven for 18 mins till buns are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack before serving, haha, or you can just slather these buns with butter as soon as it comes out of the oven and enjoy!<br />
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Hint: If you want to store these buns for later, let the buns cool completely on a wire rack. Place them in a ziploc bag. For longer storage, you can place the buns in the bag into the freezer. They almost keep indefinitely. Just warm them up in a toaster oven for 5 mins before serving, less if they are sliced. You can also microwave them for 50 seconds if they come right out of the freezer just before serving.</div>
Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-61678636801845874922013-02-22T09:24:00.000-08:002013-02-22T09:24:50.992-08:00Beef Rendang - Rendang Daging Tok<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What do you do to a perfect looking piece of beef brisket that you got cheap from the grocery store?<br />
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Nope, not into meat curing yet, so corned beef or pastrami is out. I was thinking of using the beef brisket to make a Cantonese style beef stew, which is always a favorite. However, my other half decided that winter is perfect for making beef rendang and yellow sticky rice.<br />
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Seriously? Where did he get that from?<br />
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To add to the problem, I have never used brisket to make beef rendang before. Usually, I will go to my standby of top or bottom round, and London broil. Brisket is a tough cut of meat, with connective tissues all over that the only way to tenderize them is long over of cooking. Then again, rendang or Malay style dry curry is essentially a stew. Why not give it a try?<br />
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I remember tasting the curry beef brisket when I was in Hong Kong, and they did get the meat to turn so melt in the mouth tender and the deep flavor of the brisket works really well with the play of spices in the curry paste they used.<br />
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The recipe that I use in making rendang was taught to me by a close friend's mum years ago. She was originally from the Perak state in Malaysia, hence, her recipe of making rendang is referred to as Rendang Tok. The spice paste featured a strong presence of turmeric, and unlike rendang of other variations, it is cooked till dry.<br />
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However, for my family, they love a little bit of gravy with their yellow sticky rice. Hence, I usually leave mine a little wet compared to the traditional ones. Feel free to cook the rendang till the gravy has all evaporated. You will be rewarded with one tasty pot of spicy, coconut, beef curry stew that will keep you nice and warm in the winter months.<br />
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Rendang Daging Tok<br />
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Ingredients<br />
1.5lb to 2lb of beef (brisket, top round, bottom round, sirloin or London Broil)<br />
10 large shallots or 20 small shallots<br />
10 dried hot peppers, deseeded and soaked in hot water till soft (more if you like yours spicy)<br />
6 cloves of garlic<br />
4 inches of fresh or frozen turmeric<br />
4 inches of ginger<br />
2 inches of galangal<br />
3 stalks of lemongrass, white part only (or 5 heaping tablespoon of frozen chopped lemongrass)<br />
2 Tbsp of fennel<br />
1 Tbsp of cumin<br />
3 pieces of kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded<br />
1 piece of turmeric leaf, torn roughly (Optional if you can't find it at your Asian grocery store)<br />
1/2 cup of vegetable or canola oil<br />
1/2 cup of water<br />
2 cups of thick coconut milk<br />
6 Tbsp of fried coconut flakes (kerisik)<br />
salt and palm sugar (or brown sugar) to taste<br />
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Methods<br />
1. In a food processor, combine shallots, rehydrated hot peppers, garlic, turmeric, ginger, and galangal. Add in lemongrass as well if you are using the frozen chopped variant. Process ingredients into a fine paste. Add a teaspoon of water if necessary to aid in the grinding process.<br />
2. Cut beef brisket to about 1-inch pieces.<br />
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3. In a wok or heavy bottom pot, add in 1/2 cup of oil and turn the stove to medium low. Add in the ground spices. Let cook until aromatic and oil begins to separate from the ground spices. Stir occasionally as they burn easy.<br />
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4. Once the ground spices are cooked, add in the beef brisket. Stir in half a cup of water and turn heat up to medium high. Let cook until mixture comes up to a boil. Continue to let it simmer at medium low till water is reduced, about 30 mins. Stir occasionally.<br />
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5. Once water has evaporate to a quarter of its original level, add in the two cups of coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, fresh lemongrass stalks, and turmeric leaf, if using. Continue to let the stew cook for another hour or so till meat is tender and gravy has been reduced to very thick consistency. You are looking at about 1/3 of its original level. Stir every 20 mins. Season with salt and palm sugar.<br />
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6. Once gravy has thickened to the desired consistency, add in fried coconut flakes or kerisik. Cook for another 10 mins till all gravy has evaporated and your beef rendang looks dry.<br />
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7. Beef rendang is best served with steamed yellow sticky rice (recipe to come later).<br />
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Note: Traditionally, kerisk is made out of dry fried fresh coconut flakes and then pounded. If using substitution, heat up a wok on low and add in coconut flakes. Stir till coconut flakes turned golden brown. Pound coconut flakes in a mortar or pestle. You can also grind it in a food processor.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-31515012190385174322013-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:002013-01-15T09:14:53.618-08:00Malaysian-Style Roasted Hainanese Chicken Rice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If there is ever a national meat category voted by Malaysians, it is safe to say chicken will be the king of all in the tropical island of Malaysia. No one die hard Malaysia-born native can nor voluntarily will go through a day without having some form of chicken dish or eggs.<br />
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Why do we love chicken so much? Well, what's not to love about it? Living in a multi-racial country, where people have different cultural and religious views on everything, from food to clothing, politics and what's not, chicken is like our answer to unity. I dare you to name me one person in Malaysia who will publicly announce to the world that he/she detests chicken. None?<br />
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When it comes to the preparation of chicken in Malaysia, the dishes are as varied as the population that makes up the blend of people who all represents a different side of Malaysia. Predominantly a majority of Malay populated country, there are no less than a hundred different methods of preparing the poutine in all different types of spices and coconut milk blend, the recipes traditionally passed on from one generation to the next, and often, a closely guarded secret.<br />
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The Chinese and Indian populace in Malaysia will of course have their variation of how best to prepare chicken, mostly depending on the mood of the days, be it a spicy concoction that rivals the Korean potent gochujang and kochukaru mixed of paste or the more subtle Chinese herbs laced steamed variation of chicken dishes.<br />
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As diverse as the chicken dishes in Malaysia mimicking the different cultures of the population, everyone can agree it is the Chinese community's famous Hainanese Chicken Rice, a dish purportedly brought over by a group of immigrant from the Hainan Island, south of China, which reigned supreme among all the different poultry preparations in the country.<br />
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Now, some may disagree, stating rather matter of fact that Hainanese Chicken is a Singaporean dish. Well, the truth is, Singapore and the then-Malaya was united as one country by the British colonist at the time and it was not until 1965 when the little island officially separated itself from the mainland Malaya. So, to claim one dish as its own when the same preparation was being taught and very much celebrated by others just north of the border is a bit.......counter-productive, wouldn't you say it? If it is up to me, let's just call it a truly South-east Asian dish enjoyed by all the countries in the region.<br />
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Traditionally, Hainanese chicken is boiled in chicken stock or just plain water, and then submerged in ice cold water to keep the skin intact, retaining the skin's color, springiness without getting soft and soggy. The barometer of how a good Hainanese chicken rice dish is prepared can be a long list of criterion which is best left to the professionals in cooking competition to deal with. I kid you not, there is a Hainanese Chicken cooking competition, very much like Memphis in May or the Texan famous chili cookoff competitions down south.<br />
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An equally popular spin-off from the boiled Hainanese chicken is the roasted Hainanese chicken. In Kuala Lumpur, you will find thousands of roadside eateries, as well as, franchise-based restaurants or mall food court selling both the boiled and roasted version of the famous fowl. The younger generation tends to prefer the roasted version of the poultry while the older generation almost always choose the boiled version over the earlier. Maybe they know something that we don't?<br />
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Whichever way you prefer to cook the chicken, the best way to enjoy the this simple albeit controversial dish is to dunk the chicken in garlic chili sauce, a smear of ginger scallion paste, a drizzle of dark soy sauce if you like, with a mouthful of that greasy rice cooked with rendered chicken fat. Oh yeah, rendered chicken fat. Any restaurateurs offering you a healthier version of the dish is only jibbing you off the most heavenly good experience of what we proclaim a good Hainanese Chicken Rice!<br />
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<b>Malaysian Style Roasted Hainanese Chicken Rice</b><br />
<b>Serves 6-8</b><br />
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<i>Ingredients</i><br />
<i>-For The Chicken</i><br />
6.5lb to 7lb whole chicken (roaster)<br />
5 slices of ginger<br />
2 stalks of green onions<br />
2 Tbsp of honey<br />
1 Tbsp of molasses (or Chinese maltose if you can find it)<br />
1 tsp of 5 spice powder<br />
2 Tbsp of soy sauce<br />
1 Tbsp of cooking caramel (Substitute with other dark soy sauce if you can't find it)<br />
1 tsp of sesame oil<br />
1Tbsp of Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing works best, substitute with dry sherry)<br />
A few dashes of ground white pepper<br />
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-<i>For the rice</i><br />
2 cups of long grain white rice (preferably jasmine rice)<br />
2 slices of ginger<br />
3 cloves of garlic, chopped<br />
2 1/2 cup of chicken stock (homemade or store bought)<br />
4 Tbsp or more liquid chicken fat (rendered from excess fat from the chicken)<br />
salt to taste<br />
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<i>-For the chili dipping sauce</i><br />
2 Tbsp of chili garlic sauce (the one you find at the Asian grocery with the green cap, next to Sriracha)<br />
3 Tbsp of sugar<br />
3 Tbsp of cider vinegar<br />
1 tsp of liquid chicken fat<br />
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<i>-For the ginger dipping sauce</i><br />
3-inches of ginger root, grated<br />
3 stalk of scallion, finely chopped<br />
3 Tbsp of canola or vegetable oil<br />
1 tsp of liquid chicken fat<br />
3/4 tsp of rice vinegar<br />
salt to taste<br />
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<b>Directions</b><br />
<b>For the Chicken</b><br />
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1) Prepare the whole chicken. Discard the pack of giblets in the cavity. Save it for chicken stock later.<br />
2) Trim off excess fat. Dunk those fats in a stainless steel pot which you will use to cook the rice in later.<br />
3) Pat the chicken dry, outside and the cavity as well. Fold the wing tips to the back of the wings so it will stay put.<br />
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4) In a small bowl, combine honey, molasses, soy sauce, rice wine, 5 spice powder, cooking caramel, sesame oil, and ground white pepper in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.<br />
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5) Place chicken in a pan layered with wire rack. Rub the seasoning mix all over the chicken, inside and out till all seasoning mix is used up. There will be a lot of dripping in the pan, discard later.<br />
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6) Place the sliced ginger and green onions into the cavity of the chicken.<br />
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7) Using a kitchen twine, tie the legs together so it covers the cavity. Discard all the seasoning drippings in the pan. Place chicken on a wire rack in the pan and leave to dry uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.<br />
8) 30 minutes prior to cooking, remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Set the pan with the chicken on the counter to come up to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425F.<br />
9) With the backbone side up, place chicken in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 375F. After 30 minutes of roasting, or when skin turned golden and crispy on the upper side, turn chicken over breast side up.<br />
10) Continue roasting for another 45 mins, till chicken is golden brown and internal temperature of the meat measured on the thighs reached 170F. Once the meat is cooked and if the skin has not crunched up, turn on the convection function in your oven and let it crunch up the skin for 10 mins. If you don't have the function at your disposal, just turn off the oven, then turn the broiler on high. Watch the bird the entire time to avoid burning the skin, your aim is a nice golden crunch.<br />
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11) Remove from oven and let stand for 20 mins before carving. longer if you can stave your family away from the crispy roasted chicken resting on the kitchen counter.<br />
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Note: The roaster which I used is about 6.5lbs. Based on my approximation of 18 minutes per 1lb of chicken at a 375F oven, it should take about 117 minutes, 3 minutes under the 2 hours mark. However, since I started off the chicken at the higher temperature of 425F for 20 minutes, it reduced the overall cooking time. Mine was done at approximately 1 hour and 15 mins.<br />
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<b>For the Rice</b><br />
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1) Place pot with the excess chicken fat on the stove top and turn it on to medium. Fat will begin to render.<br />
You will get about 1/4 cup of liquid chicken fat.<br />
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2)Save about 3 tsp for the ginger and chili dipping sauce while leaving behind the remainder liquid chicken fat in the pot.<br />
3) To proceed with the rice, pour in the rice grains, chopped garlic, and ginger into the pot. Saute till you can smell the garlic and ginger permeating the air. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the garlic.<br />
4) Add chicken stock and about 1/2 tsp of salt into the pot. Cover and turn heat up to high. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce heat to low and set timer for 25 mins. Once the timer goes off, remove pot to the cooler side of the stove. Let rest covered for 10 minutes before fluffing the rice with a fork.<br />
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<b>For the Chili dipping sauce</b><br />
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1) This is the easy version of making the chili dipping sauce which taste equally as good as the ones that called for all the ingredients to be pounded into a paste using fresh chili peppers.<br />
2) In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Stir till sugar dissolved. Let rest at room temperature, covered to be served later.<br />
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<b>For the Ginger Dipping Sauce</b><br />
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1) Grate the ginger in a bowl. Add the thinly sliced scallions into the bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Season with salt to taste. Let rest at room temperature to develop the flavor. You can make the ginger sauce ahead of time. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature. Serve on the side with chicken rice.</div>
Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-18285024002956040812012-12-10T10:53:00.000-08:002012-12-10T10:53:07.591-08:00Checkerboard Cookies <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have always been fascinated by the checkerboard cookies. Well, at least when I was a child anyways. They look so geometrically correct, which, if you happened to be extremely interested in math and science as a child, you would really fall in love with the construction of something so symmetrically correct. Did I just lose you right there?<br />
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Anyhow, making checkerboard cookies have not crossed my mind in ages since I preferred the lazy ways of drop cookies. Hey, in an era where many do not cook, let alone bake, I consider myself pretty darn good for keeping the cooking and baking from scratch tradition alive. No apologies there.<br />
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For my first attempt, I started with a small batch, which was a HUGE mistake. Had I known then that the process is going to be so tedious, I would have made a bigger batch, just so I have a lot of dough to freeze. They will be my thaw and bake cookies for emergency purposes or Christmas.<br />
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Speaking of which, the urge to bake something new started with the dawn of the merry season. So many pre-Christmas parties to go to and I hate the fact to show up empty handed. Part of me would love to do that, would kill to be able to let myself to do that. Nope, not gonna happen this lifetime. So, off to baking we go.<br />
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Checkerboard Cookies Recipe<br />
Makes about 3 dozens<br />
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<i>Ingredients</i><br />
1 cup of butter, softened<br />
1/2 cup of sugar<br />
1 tsp of vanilla<br />
2 1/2 cup of flour<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
3 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder or melted chocolate, depending on what you have in your pantry<br />
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<i>Directions</i><br />
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract and continue to beat for another minute.<br />
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2. Add in flour gradually, and mix till a dough is formed. Divide filling into two portions. Take out one portion and place it on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape dough into a 8 by 12 rectangle. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator.<br />
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3. To the remaining dough in the mixer, add in the cocoa powder. Mix till it is well combined. Repeat the process to shape dough into a rectangle. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator till dough is firm, about 30 minutes.<br />
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4. Once dough has set, unwrap the two dough on a work counter layered with a fresh piece of plastic wrap. Place the white dough on the base. Top with the chocolate dough. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and press to ensure the two dough adhere to each other.<br />
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5. If dough softened at this time, place it back into the refrigerator for 30 minutes till it is firm again. You do not want to work with the dough if it has softened. The color will combined together and you will be left with a swirl cookie dough instead of checkerboard.<br />
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6. When dough is firm enough to work with, trim off the edges of the dough so you will have perfect square edges. We are vying for 90-degree angle at every corners.This is when all those years studying math comes in handy. Remember exponent? Well, even if you don't, trust me, math comes in handy at this point. Makes it easier for one to visualize what is going to happen next in order to get the checkerboard pattern. It is nothing more than a 3x3 or a 4x4 matrix that we are shooting for. I hope I have not lost you yet. Please bear with me, this system will make the checkerboard cookies making experience a whole lot easier compared to stacking the cookie dough strip-by-strip.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbeFvY9cs1ph2KkFvPQnbEr0W1q7ahrO3lhQTQvVmzXFVepaCtfdhZ1J-Ju9xKlKIxwhaHKvlP0LEYofXflTZXgsU1_XqMnzOTRbTIcccKWgy4Xwj2S2i4nhhyphenhyphenzedlLKFR7ymcSmbKif1/s1600/100_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbeFvY9cs1ph2KkFvPQnbEr0W1q7ahrO3lhQTQvVmzXFVepaCtfdhZ1J-Ju9xKlKIxwhaHKvlP0LEYofXflTZXgsU1_XqMnzOTRbTIcccKWgy4Xwj2S2i4nhhyphenhyphenzedlLKFR7ymcSmbKif1/s320/100_0016.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
7. We start out by cutting the stacked cookie dough in half, lengthwise. The dough needs to be long. Stack the opposite color on top each other, preferably cut side to cut side, that gives you the perfect 90 degree angle, or close to it. Now you have a brown and white, brown and white stack. That is good.<br />
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8. Next, you will want to measure out the longer length of the dough. Divide the diameter of the strips equally. You need at least 12 or 16 strips altogether, again depending on the final measurements of your dough. I promise, this is easier in reality than trying to explain it in words.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctJLwaHYP7eUpFUHLOltHjcQt8DAgm_4WKNs23Y66WsPhfGNw5rdQ5Gluvivc1JpLzAeAoDusT54SI1D_klyOr-jyckUb820PRcfrq88zrW3UNUNh8OzZUsZi4Ta6mVCKB7M6Uo07z7u_/s1600/100_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctJLwaHYP7eUpFUHLOltHjcQt8DAgm_4WKNs23Y66WsPhfGNw5rdQ5Gluvivc1JpLzAeAoDusT54SI1D_klyOr-jyckUb820PRcfrq88zrW3UNUNh8OzZUsZi4Ta6mVCKB7M6Uo07z7u_/s320/100_0022.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
9. Stack the strips in alternating colors. You can do either a block of 3 strips or 4 strips, depending on how many strips you manage to cut out from your dough.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWjH7mKrPVcyWDXENkyaLNW8iKGSIWEBa2oJjW9t8SSiYtaFcLVL0WXw845ROd9j3dKidyOBdPUAhMAOPsu2L-ChQuN-Y3zdNP6cWMlCfrXnoz0xAbE7hcod1uZfTecKtooPERyWIWXcD/s1600/100_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWjH7mKrPVcyWDXENkyaLNW8iKGSIWEBa2oJjW9t8SSiYtaFcLVL0WXw845ROd9j3dKidyOBdPUAhMAOPsu2L-ChQuN-Y3zdNP6cWMlCfrXnoz0xAbE7hcod1uZfTecKtooPERyWIWXcD/s320/100_0018.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
10. Once you have stack them together, wrap the log in plastic wrap. If you have leftover dough like I do, simply roll it out into a flat piece. <br />
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Wrap the log of dough with the leftover cookie dough. This is a good trick to salvage whichever strip of dough that threatens to fall apart on you.Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before baking.<br />
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11. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F. Slice cookie dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Bake for 9-11 minutes till bottom is golden brown and cookie is set. Bake any longer, and the color will just combine and you will lose the checkerboard pattern which you have worked so hard to achieve. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before storing or you can eat one right away as soon as it sets.<br />
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Note:<br />
a) This recipe can easily be doubled. I used my standard shortbread cookies recipe as I like the buttery light cookie dough. I did not use any egg wash or water to bind the stacks together.<br />
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b) As long as you press them together firmly before refrigeration, the stacks should stick together. If you feel more comfortable using egg wash to bind the layers together, feel free to do so.<br />
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c) Just remember, never ever ever work with the dough if it softens too much. Just wrap it in plastic, put it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes till it firms up before working with the dough again.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-84481900167330578832012-12-03T11:19:00.003-08:002012-12-03T11:19:49.837-08:00Turkey Floss Bread Roll<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Remember those turkey meat floss I have made in my <a href="http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2012/11/homemade-chinese-turkey-floss-turkey.html">last post</a>, well, I kept some in a tight container for the next project. Turkey floss bread roll or pinwheels.<br />
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Pretty cool looking, huh? In any case, this is not a success story. I have never had much luck when it comes to rolling bread or cake. It did not surprise me at all when my bread roll cracked whilst I was trying to roll it. They still come out tasty, nonetheless.<br />
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I copied the recipe from <a href="http://schneiderchen.de/Recipes/index.php?show=461&page=1">Angie's Recipe</a>. Hers look great, mine not too hot. You can hop over to her site for the complete recipe. I will try this recipe again with my own bread dough. Once I manage to get a perfect roll out of the bread, I will write a new post on it. Meanwhile, enjoy the pics.<br />
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Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-17305140686946602112012-11-29T07:32:00.002-08:002012-11-29T07:32:30.622-08:00Homemade Chinese Turkey Floss/ Turkey Rou Sung<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you have ever have a taste of the Chinese meat floss or any pastry item from a Chinese bakery using meat floss, then you will know how good this meat product is. For those who have not, the idea of a meat-based cotton candy type food can be off putting. In reality, think of pulled pork only dehydrated. Kinda like pulled pork jerky, if you will.<br />
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Now, you can usually buy this pre made at any decent Asian grocery store. Some better tasting ones will originate from manufacturers in Taiwan. However, if you are sick and tired of paying over $18 for a pound of pulled pork jerky like I do, and you are a fan of this, you should absolutely try making this at home.<br />
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Or in case, Thanksgiving was but a week ago and you found yourself left with over a pound of roasted turkey breast and no one in the family is willing to have another turkey sandwich or pot pie, you can try using the turkey breast for something that won't remind them of Thanksgiving dinner at all, hence, a great reason to make this.<br />
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I should warn you however, that this is no easy task. Takes about half an hour of non-stop stirring and spatula chopping action to get the turkey looks like cotton candy and get it to the desired crispiness. Fear not, because the reward is sweeter than you think.<br />
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Homemade Turkey Floss<br />
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1lb of cooked turkey breast (you can use cooked chicken breast, leftover roast pork, etc)<br />
2 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce<br />
1 Tbsp of oil (use only if meat is dry, i.e. turkey breast, chicken breast, very lean pork)<br />
5 Tbsp sugar or to taste<br />
1/2 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)<br />
1 tsp 5 spice powder<br />
1 tsp chili powder (optional)<br />
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Directions<br />
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1) Slice leftover turkey, chicken or pork into thin strips. Place them inside a freezer bag.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_7ZHM69SfYQiTRf01UU2Lg2GvGETTj4Rh4G6Nq9iidBDcKz8WguaI61wx-to2g7fQLtSf3-wplZCYSxUBTOpAnJ9zzxPUQvEDIxBg9oryn21pa6lqcqdj3f7PvIksnBu_rA3Zq8bV_oC/s1600/100_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_7ZHM69SfYQiTRf01UU2Lg2GvGETTj4Rh4G6Nq9iidBDcKz8WguaI61wx-to2g7fQLtSf3-wplZCYSxUBTOpAnJ9zzxPUQvEDIxBg9oryn21pa6lqcqdj3f7PvIksnBu_rA3Zq8bV_oC/s320/100_0002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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2) This is the fun part. Using a meat mallet, pound the meat till it is completely flatten and then some. This step is important as it helps to loosen the meat, which will cut short the time you will require when stirring and cooking the meat later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZRhsR6DRL5ygkiSJYDbVXfeyLF-DGuT_Nks442OZiwd2rUZz45es8Yj-Mc1IXzkdQwhDHxprvGz8zjgV49HwGMwG8VVKqj7BEBxrn_ZOC4mojqOO3JeC4lGRi_C5HLHFlAYCI_AVzBWG/s1600/100_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZRhsR6DRL5ygkiSJYDbVXfeyLF-DGuT_Nks442OZiwd2rUZz45es8Yj-Mc1IXzkdQwhDHxprvGz8zjgV49HwGMwG8VVKqj7BEBxrn_ZOC4mojqOO3JeC4lGRi_C5HLHFlAYCI_AVzBWG/s320/100_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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3) This step is completely optional. If you are anal about getting all pieces completely loosened up and cutting the cooking time to its shortest, use a rolling pin and run it over the bag for, say ten times, just to make sure that they are very close to falling apart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2PSk2izo-tXZu0gMoDMJWO3w4oL9y-f6TghxamMHLXUB2StoZmRNdhAmYDspiUxmBDBVndL-5KyaatzIWm95Any2UBWsDZm6VT9sRo52vBnvxeLPv9B0wIjCYrDmzOAzqK89DLGJpGDz/s1600/100_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2PSk2izo-tXZu0gMoDMJWO3w4oL9y-f6TghxamMHLXUB2StoZmRNdhAmYDspiUxmBDBVndL-5KyaatzIWm95Any2UBWsDZm6VT9sRo52vBnvxeLPv9B0wIjCYrDmzOAzqK89DLGJpGDz/s320/100_0005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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4) To make your cooking and stirring time a lot shorter, shred the meat into even finer pieces with your fingers before placing them into the wok. This will take less than 5 minutes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MFbF6m29TfZlT902DvcAuNtYoqbuKrnU2HAU9w6AX-YOCvzdV-ryXwbFSMOMbYyXF4jbaGPmHiJPwN9mCwi20oYkV4yPhOV97Ed6_2zoVAdgHcEMzGj-onRvSSx3bZF7BLK2ylxIBSk7/s1600/100_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MFbF6m29TfZlT902DvcAuNtYoqbuKrnU2HAU9w6AX-YOCvzdV-ryXwbFSMOMbYyXF4jbaGPmHiJPwN9mCwi20oYkV4yPhOV97Ed6_2zoVAdgHcEMzGj-onRvSSx3bZF7BLK2ylxIBSk7/s320/100_0006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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5) Turn the heat to medium. Start stirring the meat in the wok, pressing visible large strips into small bits. Remember, the goal is to get a cotton candy like texture. At this point, I hope you have all the seasoning ingredients mixed in a bowl. Continue to cook and stir the meat for the next 10 minutes before adding the seasoning. It burns easy after you have add the seasoning into the meat.<br />
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6) Add in the seasoning, stir, stir, and stir. It is important to toss the meat mixture around the wok and always scrape the bottom of the wok to ensure nothing sticks. Turn the heat down to medium low or low if you find the meat browning up too quick. After 30 minutes, your meat floss should look like the picture above. Now, if you don't want your meat floss to get crispy, you can pretty much stop at this point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8lk_NH5IbJZN_fh810uRILK-Z94B0s8d78F6mqtYb5ZULhO3PzKB3c_KSaB3MQhL4emp0O29wDWN9Nu_QVyHXUsSZBaojSHHkf-v8oUKz6XDjrdWLWF339AacMFAbvpejY3e8h3nNDIP/s1600/100_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8lk_NH5IbJZN_fh810uRILK-Z94B0s8d78F6mqtYb5ZULhO3PzKB3c_KSaB3MQhL4emp0O29wDWN9Nu_QVyHXUsSZBaojSHHkf-v8oUKz6XDjrdWLWF339AacMFAbvpejY3e8h3nNDIP/s320/100_0014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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7) Another 5 minutes, and your pork floss will turn crispy. Let the mixture cool in the wok, off heat. You can eat as is, or store them in a jar for use later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThUudIR5KXHny68Mwd23hbzzc10U8UMV0YYM3Z-zYiyLjTE4M8soeiIUR63EoxAf4TVv2TUEQWsNz0nbyz3WSRuwyUIv8yZ2u46CXBe0xLiHbRPJN3JTOmE3-zQBcUXA1sDo4RXMAWQEN/s1600/100_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThUudIR5KXHny68Mwd23hbzzc10U8UMV0YYM3Z-zYiyLjTE4M8soeiIUR63EoxAf4TVv2TUEQWsNz0nbyz3WSRuwyUIv8yZ2u46CXBe0xLiHbRPJN3JTOmE3-zQBcUXA1sDo4RXMAWQEN/s320/100_0019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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That is how it should look like. And yes, I stored mine in a jar because the next baking project I have in mine will require this meat floss as an important ingredient.</div>
Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-86921383039008024282012-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:002012-11-12T07:31:25.345-08:00Steakhouse Sweet and Soft Dinner Roll<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't know about you but each time I go out to a steakhouse, I so look forward to their complimentary dinner rolls and blue cheese chopped salad. Not that because I am cheap (maybe, a little) but those complimentary dinner rolls are to-die-for, literally, and I can make a meal out of the bread and salad in any given day. Forget the steak. For me, the best part of going to a steakhouse is the good rolls and salad. Period.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw6qLS_G66fVmJLSlBGGcuw1UUACAhQRnautfMCVtBEvetQYUrw02GZLj2O-Z8kjIJUCs0KuPHLkYM4aTrKHMfkDvEzrIW2k_lAzrR10JfuxmIDK7AzV2q1a8VWS685Vvy3nVDCozL4zx/s1600/100_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw6qLS_G66fVmJLSlBGGcuw1UUACAhQRnautfMCVtBEvetQYUrw02GZLj2O-Z8kjIJUCs0KuPHLkYM4aTrKHMfkDvEzrIW2k_lAzrR10JfuxmIDK7AzV2q1a8VWS685Vvy3nVDCozL4zx/s320/100_0007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, if you are like me, who are <strike>somewhat</strike> extremely confident of your bread making prowess, you will want to replicate the dinner rolls at home to impress guests over, say a potluck party or dinner at home. Heck, Thanksgiving is approaching.<br />
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How many of those copy cat recipes I have tried so far which lauded the supposedly "kitchen secret" of those steakhouses' dinner rolls you may ask? Well, let's just say that I have tried enough of them which made me lost count and none of them made me feel comfortable enough to serve to a crowd. For one thing, they are not even close to the texture, taste and color of those steakhouses' dinner rolls I was vying for.<br />
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That is, until I went and search through the archive of King Arthur's Flour Website and found this keeper. My-oh-my what a great surprise! Those dinner rolls were really good. It took superhuman strength not to eat them all when it came fresh out of the oven. Then again, I guess you really cannot eat all 18 or 20 of them in one sitting.<br />
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The one thing which everyone who frequents King Arthur's Website by now will realize that since the company began selling their fancy add-ons baking condiments (note that I used the term loosely here), their new recipes all looked like a hard sell marketing collaterals.<br />
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Case in point, why do we need a clearjel to thicken pie filling, sauces, puddings, and etc? Grandma used cornstarch, and most recently, after reading through my newly inherited old recipe box from Grandma, arrowroot starch is the preferred<strike> thickener</strike> thickening agent minus the starchy, gummy texture. So, pray tell, why can't they state that in their recipe? Yeah, I understand, money sustain a business, and I don't blame them but for home bakers, most of us would like to use on hands ingredients at home, or easily accessible ingredients from our grocery store, without having to pay for shipping. Get the idea, now?<br />
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My new mission, I will still bake, as-is, but if I can come up with the perfect substitute for a cheaper ingredient which does not require for the home bakers, like myself, to procure via the Internet or pay a premium for, I will bring you the good news.<br />
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Back to the rolls, oh yeah, the rolls!<br />
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<b>Steakhouse Sweet and Soft Dinner Rolls</b><br />
(Adapted from <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/dark-and-soft-chain-restaurant-dinner-rolls-recipe">King Arthur's Flour</a> )<br />
Makes 20 dinner rolls<br />
<b _idv_element_hash="40194640" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></b>
<b _idv_element_hash="40194640" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Dough</b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">1 1/3 cups (10 5/8 ounces) warm water</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter, softened</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">1/2 cup (6 ounces) honey</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">2 3/4 cups (12 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">1 3/4 cups (7 3/4 ounces King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">2 teaspoons salt</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">4 tablespoon molasses or Indonesian brand sweet thick soy sauce (the original recipe calls for caramel coloring, which I couldn't find. If you have some on hand, use 1 Tbsp powdered, or 2tsp liquid)</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><b style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font: inherit; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">Topping</b><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">yellow cornmeal</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Directions</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">1) Combine flours, salt and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the dough hook, let the mixer run on low to combine the mix well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">2) Add in all liquid ingredients and butter, drizzling slowly till the mix combines.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">3) Turn mixer on to dial number 3, and let it knead for 10 minutes. The dough should form a cohesive dough but still sticky to the touch. Turn dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for 1 hour. Note: The dough won't double in size but will be puffy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">4) If you choose to knead this by hand, start with combining all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Form a well in the center and mix in all wet ingredients, except for butter. Mix with hands till a dough is formed. It will be very sticky. Knead in the butter.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">5) This is when it gets really sticky, literally. Turn dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and knead the dough for at least 15 minutes. You will need to add more oil to your work surface as you go. Resist the temptation to add flour, else you will risk some really tough dinner rolls later.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">6) Proceed to let the dough rise in a lightly oiled bowl, covered, for at least 1 hour.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">7) We are almost there. Prepare a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with cornmeal. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">8)Divide the dough into 20 pieces and shape it into rounds. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of the rolls. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise for another 2 hours. I know, this is unconventional but believe me, you won't regret this! I promise!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgda4t2H_wS4Hdv5hcFXIM6WY95CWErqu3_TgVtE1zb2R3T3OS-PL38IAe_nWvGT6HPhULJB6cdHWvKLszVPbBlV4s16Pe36Udk-REV35o5KUiA0a89ygJyXRtOnZqDWb20TCPn4sIlsYqu/s1600/100_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgda4t2H_wS4Hdv5hcFXIM6WY95CWErqu3_TgVtE1zb2R3T3OS-PL38IAe_nWvGT6HPhULJB6cdHWvKLszVPbBlV4s16Pe36Udk-REV35o5KUiA0a89ygJyXRtOnZqDWb20TCPn4sIlsYqu/s320/100_0006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">9) Preheat oven to 350F. Bake this rolls for 15 minutes or till top is golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through baking time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Note: Mine does not require more than 15 minutes. However, if you are making 2 trays of this in the oven at the same time, you will have to add more time to the total baking time. Say, another 2 - 3 minutes or so.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw6qLS_G66fVmJLSlBGGcuw1UUACAhQRnautfMCVtBEvetQYUrw02GZLj2O-Z8kjIJUCs0KuPHLkYM4aTrKHMfkDvEzrIW2k_lAzrR10JfuxmIDK7AzV2q1a8VWS685Vvy3nVDCozL4zx/s1600/100_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw6qLS_G66fVmJLSlBGGcuw1UUACAhQRnautfMCVtBEvetQYUrw02GZLj2O-Z8kjIJUCs0KuPHLkYM4aTrKHMfkDvEzrIW2k_lAzrR10JfuxmIDK7AzV2q1a8VWS685Vvy3nVDCozL4zx/s320/100_0007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Grab a stick of softened butter and proceed to make your way to bread heaven! Advise, eat it while it is hot, warm is acceptable but seriously, it will never make it to the cool stage at my house.</span></span></div>
Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-5198646229008104502012-10-08T20:07:00.000-07:002012-10-08T20:07:19.152-07:00Grandma's Secret New England Coffee Cake Recipe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have not been blogging for a while. Work and family commitment have been keeping me really busy for a while here. Sorry bout that.<br />
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To make it up to everyone, I thought, what could be better than to share some hand me down recipes which I obtained from my 89 years old grandma? Believe me when I say this is her secret recipe. I have never had her coffee cake ever...cos when I get to know her, (my hubby's grandma, really) she was 85 years old and had stopped baking at that point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCckUqDJf6B8c4eD3gjAZyfYiEgOh2ALqgzJ7CElc7lbtr8SBUDw4lNKpN7QCIXjEcTTpu4ZcCvEneXTnBsyXezMrTRfqcIQ7EoFv-U8dTkDygLU73e6C3iGNwdM81qVgED7kE607NPpes/s1600/CoffeeCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCckUqDJf6B8c4eD3gjAZyfYiEgOh2ALqgzJ7CElc7lbtr8SBUDw4lNKpN7QCIXjEcTTpu4ZcCvEneXTnBsyXezMrTRfqcIQ7EoFv-U8dTkDygLU73e6C3iGNwdM81qVgED7kE607NPpes/s320/CoffeeCake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, when grandma sold her house in New England to live full time in Florida, she thought of passing down all her recipes in her old cute recipe box to me, knowing how much I love old fashioned, trusted recipes. While I was browsing through her collections of cakes and sweets, this one stood out to me. And boy, was I good in spotting a good recipe from the pile.<br />
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The coffee cake came out rich, moist, buttery, and cinnamon-y! It was so good that I baked this cake three days in a row and it kept disappearing overnight. The best part about the recipe is that it only uses a stick of butter or 1/2 cup for the entire 12-inch cake, which is not too much if you have been baking for a while. Give this a try and I promise you will never buy another coffee cake at the store.<br />
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<b>Grandma Glady's Coffee Cake Recipe (Makes 1 12-inch cake)</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><b>For the Cake Batter</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1/2 cup butter or margerine (I prefer butter)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 cup of sugar</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">2 cups all purpose flour, sifted</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 tsp baking powder (I use double acting)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 tsp baking soda</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1/4 tsp salt</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">2 eggs</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 cup sour cream (use regular, not light)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 tsp vanilla</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><b>For the Streusel Toppings and Fillings</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1/2-1 cup of chopped walnut (I used close to 1 1/4 cup cos I love walnut)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 tsp cinnamon powder</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><b>Directions</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Preheat oven at 350F. Grease and flour a 10 cups tube pan (about 12-inch).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">2. In your stand mixer or a bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla till well combined.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">3. Add in flour, alternate with sour cream and mix till batter is well combined. (Batter will come out really thick)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">4. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon. Mix well.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">5. Scoop half the cake batter into tube pan. Spread till you get an even layer.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">6. Sprinkle half the streusel mix evenly onto the cake batter.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">7. Top with remaining cake batter. Spread to get an even layer, enough to cover the streusel filling.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">8. Top cake with remaining streusel. Sprinkle to get an even layer.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">9. Bake for 40 to 45 mins. ( I usually set the timer at 40 minutes and check. It should be done by then.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">10. Rest cake for 20 minutes before removing from pan. Slice only when cake has cooled completely as it will crumble and fall apart if you give into temptation to slice the cake when it was still warm. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">(I know it is hard but please try)</span></div>
Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-12576315895168231192012-05-23T15:02:00.000-07:002012-05-23T15:02:09.886-07:00Homemade Silver Needle Noodle aka Lou Shu Fun<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I forgot which famous figure once said invention comes out of desperation or something to the tune of improvisation comes out of desperation but recently, I find that saying is true. Just the other day when I thought of something to do which will fulfill my target of "Doing Something For the First Time" (more about that some other time), I came across this <a href="http://wlteef.blogspot.com/2008/07/silver-needle-noodles.html">blog page</a> which I have bookmarked for ages now.<div>
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An hour and a half later, this is what happened.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyqTnsFLLs_0wvEETuezwgFVxDwnnvT1GswryTAJgHhPQGKsbprunmu0fb9YxdFdqmzUX5zHznIosLp7wtV_IMbpKsVNQ6mgzNyLnamb-yoU8kHWh1dgXCYZeCrhthsR3t1M-BQRTMo-T/s1600/DSC03801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyqTnsFLLs_0wvEETuezwgFVxDwnnvT1GswryTAJgHhPQGKsbprunmu0fb9YxdFdqmzUX5zHznIosLp7wtV_IMbpKsVNQ6mgzNyLnamb-yoU8kHWh1dgXCYZeCrhthsR3t1M-BQRTMo-T/s320/DSC03801.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, if you live in Asia where you can get this noodle anytime you want, you really have no purpose making this at home. I will advise you not to cos it is very time consuming and all you get out of this is a cup of the noodle. However, since I do not live in Asia anymore and I can't for the life of me find this in the Asian grocery I frequent, that will have to do.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMTqdQOzINICLeAoxwHG3MZlkPrAopsDD7dcET1BtFmacih87HRKuYJFVjVEQtC6F5x-FZ-AUSpUE_xTSSDBRMxxcQiJSZL-GES1tdVbDXDRS4XTW5XTb8bbayEixf8jVzouxYXEUK0mB/s1600/DSC03809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMTqdQOzINICLeAoxwHG3MZlkPrAopsDD7dcET1BtFmacih87HRKuYJFVjVEQtC6F5x-FZ-AUSpUE_xTSSDBRMxxcQiJSZL-GES1tdVbDXDRS4XTW5XTb8bbayEixf8jVzouxYXEUK0mB/s320/DSC03809.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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To reward myself for all the hard work, perseverance, and that moment of adding another item to my first time list, I make myself a delicious bowl of minced meat silver thread noodle, of course. Who wouldn't? Honestly, the end result is so good that I don't think I will mind making this again in....say......next year?</div>
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<b>Silver Needle Noodle</b> (Adapted from <a href="http://wlteef.blogspot.com/2008/07/silver-needle-noodles.html">Do What I Like</a>)</div>
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Ingredients:</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">140g wheat starch</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">60g tapioca starch</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">pinch of salt</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">170ml boiling hot water</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">2 tsp olive oil</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Method:</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">1. Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add in the boiling hot water and stir with a pair of chopsticks. Cover with a wet towel and leave to cool for 5 minutes.</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">2. Add in the olive oil and knead till you get a smooth dough.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">3. Roll into two log-shaped pieces and cut them into small pieces about 3g each. Shape dough with your hands.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgme_hMUA88Jj614VJFOmcvUNbOMuwl5CK9pJGgxU_yLY2ZZt7xc4NrOf3KpD99BpOSEecerDA8TUusjwANYcKvI89bvN8sSxkAxeR2aThxTaPWwUYjLRe5fi2JHSB1MLRrNUVh1vMxEFUj/s1600/DSC03797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgme_hMUA88Jj614VJFOmcvUNbOMuwl5CK9pJGgxU_yLY2ZZt7xc4NrOf3KpD99BpOSEecerDA8TUusjwANYcKvI89bvN8sSxkAxeR2aThxTaPWwUYjLRe5fi2JHSB1MLRrNUVh1vMxEFUj/s320/DSC03797.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">4. Put some oil into a big pot of hot water and cook the noodle till transparent.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlU9EDZBn6VNrL8EaRgQx044KJfTzxYz1tBJy_UVfHLE2yLinVBl10plkZthj_uUQwl4UsHuBB7Vrkr3eLr3pBbsQp6jQSVHlxgjuQyTAzxvJ9UdkyyYFmO-dsluZDDZoV4PguaUpQoyM1/s1600/DSC03800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlU9EDZBn6VNrL8EaRgQx044KJfTzxYz1tBJy_UVfHLE2yLinVBl10plkZthj_uUQwl4UsHuBB7Vrkr3eLr3pBbsQp6jQSVHlxgjuQyTAzxvJ9UdkyyYFmO-dsluZDDZoV4PguaUpQoyM1/s320/DSC03800.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">5. Once the noodle is cooked, drain and put them into a mixing bowl, add one teaspoon of olive and toss the noodle around (to prevent them from sticking to each other). The noodles turn transparent after rinsing in cold water. I'd say you should probably boil it for at least 10 minutes before draining the noodles and rinse it under cold running water. Remember to stir the noodles while boiling to avoid them from turning into a hot boiling glue in the water.</span><br style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #3a3937; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">6. Chilled overnight before using.</span>
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</div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-62303901616166482222012-05-02T13:06:00.001-07:002012-05-02T13:06:13.656-07:00Black Russian Rye Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you have been to Outback Steakhouse, Cheesecake Factory, and/or Bugaboo Creek, then you will clearly understand the need for any home baker to emulate those tasty delicious bread they served to you with whipped butter shortly after you placed your orders. Oh, those sweetish dark brownish morsels of baked dough goodness.....and then it hit you one day, what in God's name are those breads?<br />
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I like to think of it as in bread from the pumpernickel/rye family. If only it is that simple. For some, I don't know what reason, it tastes DIFFERENT. I have tried many a recipes that claimed to be the copycats of breads baked in these establishments but no....they didn't come close at all. That's it until I found Beth Hensperger and her <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811816869?ie=UTF8&tag=smitten-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0811816869">Bread Bible</a>. Of course those breads are of Russian's and Eastern European's origin. Why didn't I think of that all those years ago? Bummer!<br />
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So, step 1 to identify the recipe to follow is over. I know exactly what I am looking at and the Black Russian Rye Bread came highly recommended by other food bloggers out there. Said to be the closest and even better rendition of those tasty brown morsels of bread served at the above mentioned establishments. Good!<br />
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On to the recipe, a quick scan and the first thought that came to my mind was OMG! I have never ever see a longer list of ingredients required to make a load of bread ever in my entire life. I try to convince myself that it came highly recommended and that if I really wanna free myself of the clutches from those chain restaurants (if I am honest, I really don't care too much for their food aside from the bread. Oh, the bread!), I better give it a shot.<br />
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Will I ever attempt something like this again, OH, YES! The bread came out absolutely TO DIE FOR! If you have a stand mixer or a bread machine, it should be relatively easy to make this bread with the help of those equipment. Even if you have to knead it with your hands, please try this recipe at least once. This bread is OH, SO WORTH IT!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b _idv_element_hash="3954560">Russian Black Bread</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Adapted from Beth Hensperger’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811816869?ie=UTF8&tag=smitten-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0811816869" style="color: #656a7b; text-decoration: none;">The Bread Bible</a>)</span>Makes 2 loaves<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ingredients</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 packages (1 1/2 tablespoons) active dry yeast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pinch of sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)<br />2 cups water<br />1/4 cup molasses<br />1/4 cup apple cider vinegar<br />4 tablespoons unsalted butter<br />1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine<br />1/2 cup whole-wheat flour<br />3 cups medium rye flour<br />3 cups unbleached, all-purpose or bread flour<br />1 cup wheat bran<br />2 tablespoons caraway seeds or ground caraway<br />1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds or ground fennel<br />1 tablespoon salt<br />1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder<br />1 tablespoon minced shallots<br />1/4 cup cornmeal (optional)<br />1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour (optional)<br />1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)</span><br />
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<i>Directions</i></div>
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1. In a measuring cup, combine the 1/2 cup warm water, pinch of sugar, and active dry yeast. Stir well to mix. Let stand for 10 minutes till foamy.</div>
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2. In a pot, combine 2 cups of water, molasses, apple cider vinegar, butter, and chocolate. Heat over medium heat till butter and chocolate are melted. Set aside.</div>
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3. In a large bowl, combine all the three flours. Whisk till they are well-mixed. Set aside.</div>
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4. In the mixer bowl attached with the paddle attachment, place 2 cups of mixed flours, the wheat bran, 2 tablespoon of caraway seeds, fennel, salt, espresso, and shallots.Turn mixer on to low speed. Gradually, add in the yeast and chocolate mixture to form a smooth batter. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.</div>
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5. Reduce mixer's speed to low. Gradually, add in mixed flours, half a cup at a time, till dough clears the side of bowl. Dough should be sticky but firm.</div>
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6. Stop the mixer. Remove the paddle attachment from mixer. Scrape paddle clean of dough. Replace with dough hook.</div>
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7. Turn mixer speed to low. Continue to add mixed flour to dough, 1/4 cup at a time, with the machine running till dough clears the side of bowl. You will have at least 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of mixed flours left. Let dough continues to knead for the next 3 minutes on low. </div>
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8. Once dough is done kneading, gently roll dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use the remaining mixed flours to dust your work station. Form dough into a ball. </div>
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9. Lightly, grease your mixer's bowl with vegetable oil. Place dough in bowl and turn it over once to grease the other side of the dough. Place a cling wrap over the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. </div>
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Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. </div>
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10. Once dough is done proofing, gently deflate dough. </div>
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Divide dough into 2 portions on a lightly floured surface.</div>
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11. Form into rounds. Place seam side down on parchment lined baking sheet.</div>
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12. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 mins to 1 hour.</div>
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13. Preheat oven to 350F. Slash a X on top of the dough right before baking.</div>
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14. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Bread is done when you can hear a hollow sound when bread is tapped lightly with your fingers. If you have an instant read thermometer, the temperature should read between 200F and 210F. Mine takes about 60-65 minutes to bake. </div>
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15. Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.<br />
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Note: </div>
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-The original recipes called for the caraway and fennel used in the recipe to be in the seeds form. However, if you are like me, and do not like to bite into seeds when eating your slice, grind the seeds into powder before adding it into your dough.</div>
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-I have made this bread using ground cumin instead of caraway. It tasted great if you are a cumin fan.</div>
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- The recipe calls for wheat bran, which essentially is the outer husk of wheat. I have substitute the wheat bran with wheat germ (the inner part of the wheat) using what I have on hand aka "I have totally forgotten to buy the wheat bran on my last grocery trip", it works just fine.<br />
-If you like a darker color bread, closer to pumpernickel, increase the molasses from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup<br />
- An instant read thermometer is really handy in this case. The color of the rye flour, molasses, and chocolate in the recipe makes it almost impossible to approximate if the bread is done by visual appearance.<br />
- You can also shape them into loaves and bake in a loaf pan for 50 - 55 mins.<br />
- If you choose to make this into petite rolls, divide dough into 16 portions. Shape into rounds. Bake for 20- 25 mins.</div>
</div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-52430466325498220682012-04-27T13:04:00.001-07:002012-04-27T13:04:09.902-07:00Cheese Sticks or Buns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nope, if you are looking for the American Cheese Stix aka thick strips of cheese, breaded, and fried.....this is not it. The Cheese Sticks I am referring to is the bread topped with shredded cheese that you can find in most Asian bakery. Why? The better question is why not? Instead of doing PB&J for lunch, something new with a little twist should make for an interesting light lunch or snack.<br />
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Yeah, I can take the easy way out and just called it Asiago bread but there is a problem to it. First, I am not using Asiago although the appearance of these buns do look like one. And secondly, I still feel that it is somehow wrong to term the Asian style bun as bread. Bread to me is more of the European style hard crust, hearty, and kinda like steel sitting in your stomach-type of bread. The Asian's bakery style bun on the other hand has a soft and thin crust with a fluffy light interior.<br />
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So, no! I don't think they are the same at all and cannot in all my years as a baker, group this different types of baked flour yeast-ed goodness in the same category. You just have to bear with me on that one. Back to the cheese sticks, these babies are really great. It is nice and soft, with the crispy crunchy melted cheese exterior. Beats those cheese crusts in Asia's pizza hut's cheesy crusts anytime. Anyone in Asia or Middle East has, by any chance, try the latest hamburger stuffed crust pizza in Pizza Hut there yet? I am curious to know how it will taste. Intrigue? Most definitely! You can read more on it at <a href="http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/04/cheeseburger-crown-crust-pizza-from-pizza-hut-in-the-middle-east.html">AHT - Serious Eats</a>.<br />
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Cheese Sticks or Buns<br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<i>Dough</i><br />
300g bread flour (King Arthur brand if you can)<br />
30g sugar<br />
70ml warm milk<br />
75g <a href="http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2011/01/water-roux-craze.html">water roux</a><br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
1 packet Active Dry Yeast (About 7g or 1 Tbsp)<br />
45g butter<br />
<br />
<i>Toppings</i><br />
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella<br />
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar<br />
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese<br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
Paprika<br />
Dried Parsley Flakes<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
1. In a bread machine, combine all the dough ingredients in the order as prescribed by the manufacturers.<br />
2. Set bread machine on dough cycle and let it knead and proof the bread dough till double in size. Mine take 1 1/2 hours.<br />
3. After dough is done proofing, divide it into 10 portions (about 50-55g each)<br />
4. Shape it into a round. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 10 minutes before shaping.<br />
5. Once dough is done resting, press flatten one portion of dough with a rolling pin. Then roll it up into the shape of an oblong. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover with clean kitchen towel. Let proof for 45 to 50 mins until it doubles in size.<br />
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6. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.<br />
7. Brush dough with egg wash.<br />
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8. Mix the shredded Mozzarella and sharp cheddar in a bowl. Generously top dough with cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan/Romano.<br />
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9. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway for even browning. Once bread is out of the oven, sprinkle lightly with dried parsley and paprika. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.<br />
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The best tasting soft fluffy cheesy bread you will ever taste.</div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-69079570161988766952012-04-21T16:23:00.000-07:002012-04-21T16:23:19.780-07:00Homemade NY-Style Bagel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was never a big fan of bagel but these homemade bagels are really good. Why will someone decide to make homemade bagel, you may ask. Well, cos I have never and I want to. See, when you are really into baking, there are a few items in the book that will give you street credit. First and foremost, making homemade croissant. That is the ultimate street cred a home baker can get from everyone.<br />
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The second one, is of course, making your own bread loaf at home. Then come the choux pastry, pies, and etc, not necessary in the order but you get the idea. So, how does bagel rank when it comes to street cred? Pretty high, since people rarely make them at home. No, they are not that difficult but it can be tedious to some, considering you have to boil them first before baking them.<br />
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Yup, not only will you need the patience to knead them, let them rise, shape, let them rise again, you will also have to boil them prior to the final baking process. Plus, you can pretty much get bagels everywhere. The homemade once though are pretty specials, you can add whatever toppings you want.You can also opt to make it as chewy as you like, just add the boiling time. Enough said!<br />
<br />
<b>Homemade NY-Style Bagel (Adapted from <a href="http://www.sophisticatedgourmet.com/2009/10/new-york-style-bagel-recipe/">Sophisticated Gourmet</a>)</b><br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
300g King Arthur's Bread Flour<br />
200g King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour<br />
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt<br />
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar<br />
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water<br />
1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast<br />
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
1. In your bread machine, add in water and sugar. Add salt to flour. Mix well. Add the flour to the water-sugar mix. Make a well in the center and add in your yeast. Set bread machine to the dough cycle and let it go.<br />
2. Once dough is done proofing in bread machine, turn it out onto a clean work surface. Punch down dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.<br />
3. Divide dough into 8 equal portions.<br />
4. Shape dough into balls by molding the dough using the palm of your hands against the work surface in circular motions.<br />
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5.Using your finger, poke a hole in the center and stretch the dough to about 6-inches in diameter.<br />
6. Place dough on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Cover with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.<br />
7. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add in a tablespoon of brown sugar. Stir till dissolved. Also, preheat oven to 425F.<br />
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8. Once water comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium low. Boil bagel about 2 minutes per side.<br />
9. Place boiled bagels on baking sheets. Once all bagels are done boiling, bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes till golden brown.<br />
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10. Let cool on wire rack. Serve with cream cheese, butter or preserves.<br />
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<br /></div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-28707993005258538552012-04-21T12:09:00.002-07:002012-04-21T12:09:51.376-07:00Homemade Strawberry Preserves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, it has been a while since the last I put up a post on this blog. Life has been busy in general, which is great. Strawberries are in season now and for those of you who do not know it, I am a huge strawberry fanatic. I love the look of it, the color, the shape, the smell, and most important of all, the taste. Good strawberries are hard to come by, and I am speaking of those naturally juice and sweet ones. Some of them are just so bland that I usually feed it to the dog.<br />
But I can't possibly give her that many strawberries without risking her overactive bowel movements which will cause some gross and unhappy incidents in the house. The poor rug. Strawberry preserves seems to be the perfect solution and boy, I can kick myself in the ass for not attempting to make homemade preserve before. I found a super easy recipe, alter the sugar level to suit my taste, and voila......perfection in a container.<br />
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But before you embark on your preserve making journey, let me give you a fair warning about making preserves. A pound of berries yield only about 500ml of preserve. If strawberry is expensive where you are, forget about making your own and just buy a good brand jar. However, if you live in a place where berries are cheap, like yours truly, then go ahead and embark on a preserve discovery journey. It may not be easy but it is definitely delicious!<br />
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<b>Homemade Strawberry Preserve</b><br />
<i>Ingredients</i><br />
1lb strawberries, cleaned and stemmed<br />
3/4 cup of sugar<br />
Juice of 1/2 lemon<br />
<br />
<i>Directions</i><br />
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1. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, mashed strawberries in batches. You can mashed it as fine as you like or leave it slightly chunky like I did.<br />
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2. Add in the sugar and lemon juice. Cook on low till sugar has fully dissolved. Stir occasionally.<br />
3. Once sugar has fully dissolved, turn heat up to high. Continue cooking the berry mix till it comes up to a rolling boil. You are aiming for 220F on a candy thermometer. If you don't have one, cook the strawberry preserve till you can no longer see pink foam on the surface of the mix and then let it boil for another 5 minutes. Keep stirring to avoid preserve from sticking to the bottom of the pan.<br />
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4. Let cool before storing in a clean glass jar. You can process the jar for canning if you plan to keep this for a while. If you are consuming it immediately, just store it in your favorite jar, let cool completely before putting it in the fridge.<br />
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I usually served them with homemade NY-style bagels. Seems like a lot of work but it is a great weekend treat. Bagels with cream cheese and homemade preserve. </div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-8638414691408153532012-03-21T16:38:00.003-07:002012-03-21T16:39:31.424-07:00Mexican Chili Colorado<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, you guess right. I am on a Chili Colorado binge at this point. Don't ask! Anyways, found this great Chili Colorado recipe on this <a href="http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/04/13/everyday-paleo-chili-colorado/">blog</a> and decided to give it a try!Tasted pretty good, almost like the red chili colorado you can find in a Mexican restaurant. I don't know if the addition of tomato paste into the colorado makes it less authentic but the dish sure comes out tasting darn good. I also replace beef with pork for this recipe since I just made the Ecuadorian Carne Colorado not too long ago. The family approves!<br />
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Mexican Chili Colorado<br />
(Adapted from <a href="http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/04/13/everyday-paleo-chili-colorado/">Everday Paleo</a>)<br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
4 cups water<br />
7 dried new Mexico chilies (I substitute with guajillo cos that is what I have)<br />
3 dried California chilies ( I substitute with ancho, again that is what I have)<br />
3 dried Chili de Arbol (I substitute with fried red peppers from my garden last summer)<br />
1 yellow onion, diced<br />
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine<br />
2 Tbsp oil<br />
2 1/2lb beef stew meat or pork shoulder (cut into 2-inch piece)<br />
2 Tbsp ground cumin<br />
2 Tbsp dried oregano<br />
2 cups beef stock<br />
1 6oz can tomato paste<br />
Black pepper and salt to taste<br />
<br />
<b>Methods</b><br />
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1. Rinse the dried peppers. Place in a pot and add 4 cups of water to it. Bring it to a boil over the stove. Turn off heat and let it steep in the hot water for 30 minutes. Once ready, removed stems and as much seeds as you can. Place in a food blender. Add 2 cups of the water to the blender. Puree till smooth. Set aside.<br />
2. Heat a large pot on the stove over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to the pot.<br />
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3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over meat. Brown meat in batches.<br />
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4. Add onions to the pot and turn heat down to medium low. Saute till onions has softened, scrapping the bottom of pot to release the brown bits.<br />
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5. Add the garlic and meat back into the pot. Let cook for a minute.<br />
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6. Add in the tomato paste, beef broth, cumin, and oregano into the pot. Stir well and let mixture comes to a boil.<br />
7. Reduce the heat to low. Add in the pureed chilies to the mix through a strainer. Use a spoon to help pass the pureed chilies through the strainer.<br />
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8. Cook stew on low heat. Let it simmer for 2 hours till meat is tender and sauce has reduced to less than 1/4.<br />
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9. Serve Chili Colorado with Mexican Rice and Re-fried Beans.</div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-83418903195118930272012-03-19T09:54:00.001-07:002012-03-19T09:54:42.732-07:00Ecuadorian Carne Colorado<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When did I start having an interest in Ecuadorian cuisine? Ever since I found this <a href="http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/09/carne-colorada-braised-beef/">blog </a>. She is an amazing cook and all the dishes she made is really easy to execute. No, I have never tasted Ecuadorian food before but her recipes are so simple to emulate, it makes me want to try more. I have had great results making empanadas, arroz con pollo, and most recently this carne colorado recipes. They are all delicious.<br />
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Carne Colorado<br />
(Recipe Adapted from <a href="http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/09/carne-colorada-braised-beef/">Laylita's Recipe</a>)<br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
2lb beef (I used London Broil cos that is what I have. Chuck or top round will be perfect for this)<br />
1 large onion<br />
6 cloves garlic<br />
1 Tbsp ground cumin<br />
1 Tbsp ground achiote or annato<br />
1/2 Tbsp oregano<br />
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice<br />
1/2 Cup of beer<br />
2 tsp salt or more, to taste<br />
3 Tbsp of oil, butter or lard<br />
<br />
<b>Methods</b><br />
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1. In a blender, add in the beer, onion and garlic. Process until it turns to puree. Add in the cumin, achiote, and oregano. Process to combine.<br />
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2. Cut up the meat to large chunks and place in a ziplock bag.<br />
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3. Add in the marinade ingredients to the meat. Leave to marinade overnight or at least 3 hours.<br />
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4. In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat. I did not add any oil in mine at all. Add meat and marinade mix into pot. Let the content comes up to boil.<br />
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5. Turn heat down to simmer and let the meat braised for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You will see a lot of liquid coming out from the meat. Stir occasionally.<br />
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6. Once you see the oil emerges on the surface, the meat is close to done. Stir content more frequently at this point as the liquid will dry up really quick. It takes another 20 minutes at this point. Adjust seasoning. The recipe did not call for sugar but I added about 1 1/2 Tbsp of sugar in it as I find the stew a little sourish from the lime juice.<br />
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7. Once the liquid is all dried up, dish the beef out and serve. The meat is super tender and extremely flavorful.<br />
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8. I served my carne colorado with yellow rice, and onion-cucumber pickles. </div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-72727937067361692882012-03-17T09:26:00.000-07:002012-03-17T09:26:01.885-07:00Hanjuku Tamago - Japanese Magic Egg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have been experimenting to emulate the hanjuku tamago - boiled eggs with runny yolks - the famous ramen must have accompaniment all over Tokyo. When I was spending my time studying abroad in Japan way back when, I came across this type of egg at a ramen place in Shinjuku. Needless to say, I was obsessed with it ever since. I love eggs with runny yolks, and I thought the Japanese are genius in making such eggs. What can be more perfect - cooked egg whites and runny yolks...... After much trial and error (6 jumbo eggs to be precise), I finally did it. Success is eggy!<br />
<br />
Hanjuku Tamago<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 jumbo size eggs<br />
Water<br />
1/4 cup soy<br />
1/4 cup mirin<br />
<br />
Methods<br />
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. You will need enough water to cover the eggs. As soon as the water comes to boil, lower the eggs into the water and turn the heat down so it is barely a simmer.<br />
2. Set your timer to 8 minutes, if you are using jumbo eggs. 7 minutes for large eggs and about 6 minutes for medium eggs.<br />
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3. Once the eggs are done, immersed them in ice cold water for about an hour. It will make it easier for you to remove the shell from the egg later.<br />
4. Prepare the soy marinade. Mix the soy sauce and mirin in a sandwich bag. Immerse the eggs into the bag and place in the fridge for 1 hour.<br />
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5. The eggs should come out looking slightly brownish like this. You can also skip the marinade and just serve the eggs over toast.<br />
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6. Slice and serve. It is that easy. Perfect accompaniment to noodles or whatever you fancy. If you like eggs as much as I do, just eat it plain.</div>Reese Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03922180365532718618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-208062551350539251.post-35772579757411897152012-02-23T17:40:00.000-08:002012-02-23T17:40:02.828-08:00Char Siew - Chinese BBQ Pork<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I make this recipe quite a bit, mostly for the filling of my Chinese-style baked goods. It has not occur to me to post the recipe for this till now. It's a combination of recipes I found on the few food blogs and through trial and error.<br />
It is actually very easy to make your own Char Siew at home and eat them as is or if you are into baking like I am, use the roast pork as a filling for a lot of baked goodies. My family loves it and I hope you will enjoy it too.<br />
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<br />
<br />
Char Siew- Chinese BBQ Pork<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 lb pork (I use boneless pork chops but the belly cut or pork butt will yield better results)<br />
Note: As a rule of thumb, I always brine all the meat before using. I find that the meat stays tender, moist, and juicy even after long hour of baking. <br />
<br />
Marinade<br />
5 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce<br />
3 Tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine or Rose Wine<br />
2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce<br />
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce<br />
1 2/3 cup sugar (I like mine sweet, you can reduce it to a cup)<br />
1 tsp garlic powder<br />
1 tsp 5 spice powder<br />
A Few Drops of Red Food Coloring, if you prefer<br />
<br />
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1. In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients.<br />
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2. Place pork in the marinade and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.<br />
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3. Preheat the oven to 400F.<br />
4. Line a baking pan with heavy duty foil. You really want to do this to avoid the messy clean up.<br />
5. Place pork and all the marinade into the pan. Bake 30 minutes and turn the pork chops over.<br />
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6. Bake for an additional 30 minutes till sauce begins to thicken. Remove from oven.<br />
7. Turn broiler on to low.<br />
8. Prepare a baking sheet lined with foil. Place a wire rack, lightly coat with baking spray onto the baking sheet.<br />
9. Place pork on wire rack and place under broiler. Broil till the pork is lightly charred. Serve with the remaining sauce or use as a filling for savory baked goods.<br />
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