Pineapple Tart

Last month i have try baking the open version Pineapple Tart. I did try the closed version but find it difficult to wrap so i give up the idea after two failed wrap. I just cannot get through the failed feeling, so i wanted to try it again BUT is a half closed which is roll version. And yes i did it.

Ingredients of pastry
150g plain flour
l/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp corn flour
1t tsp vanilla extract
100g butter
1 1/2 Tbsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk

Ingredients of filling
2 pineapple (about 1.3kg each)
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
6 cloves

For glazing
1 egg yolk

Method
To make the filling (One Night Before)

1. Shred the pineapple finely. Put the shredded pineapple into a blender to blend again. Seperate the pineapple pruree from the juice.
2. Pour in the pruree into a saucepan and put on medium heat. Pour in the sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves. Stir the mixture together and continue to stir for another 90mins unil the juice evaporated.
3. Store the pineapple Jam into a jar and put in the refrigerator over night. This will help to thicken the jam further.

To make the pastry

1. Mix the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg yolk. Add vanilla extract and salt, continue beating until fluffy.
3. Add in the flours and use hand to mix into a dough.
4. Set aside for 30mins.
5. Roll the dough into flat sheet with rolling pin or beer bottle to about 2mm thick.
6. Use pizza cutter to roll up and down on the pastry sheet to form lines pattern.
7. Cut the sheet to about 3-5cm wide and 7cm long
8. Put about 1/4 tsp of pineapple jam on the cut sheet and roll the sheet with your finger
9. Glaze the surface with egg yolk.
10. Bake in preheated oven of to180°C for 15min until light brown

Steamed Cabbage Roll

Cabbage has always been my favourite veggie, i love the sweetness. I like to use it as my soup base.
Today i was preparing my homemade Bak Kua so i used the leftover minced meat for this steamed cabbage roll. I remember the other time when i cook this, i used the cabbage to wrap the carrot, onion and garlic. It suppose to be a veggie roll but my hubby don't really likes it, so i used pork meat and prawn this time. And........... my hubby love it.



Ingredients:

4 cabbage leaves

4 Tbsp minced pork meat

4 prawns

Marinade pork

1 tsp light soy sauce

dash of pepper

1/2 tsp corn starch

Marinade prawn

1/2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp seasame oil

Methods

1. Marinade the pork. Set aside for 15mins
2. Marinade the prawns. Set aside for 15 mins
3. Put water in a pot and bring it to boil. Put in the cabbage leaves. Duration depend on the size of the cabbage leaves. Boil the leaves till the white steam turn translucent. Put aside to cool.
4. Open the cabbage leaves and put 1 Tbsp of meat near the edge of the steam. Put one prawn on top of the meat.
5. Hold the meat and prawn with your finger and roll the steam upward. While rolling, fold the side of the leaves inward and continue to roll the steam till end.
6. Put the rolls into a steamer and steam for 10mins.
7. Ready to serve. 

自製豬肉乾 BAK KUA

Here in France, i don't think i am able to find shop selling bak kua and it is a must must eat during Chinese New Year. I have bake twice so far. the first time i add honey but do not really like it so i try the second time without honey and i think is better.

One of the trick to eat nice bak kua is to put into the microwave for 30s before eating. Is 30s NOT more than that. The bak kua will be soft and nice.

Hope everyone love this homemade Bak Kua.



Ingredients:
500g minced pork (with fats)
1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1/2 cup sugar

Methods:

1. Put the meat and add in all the seasoning in a mixing bowl. Use chopsticks and stir until the meat becomes gluey.
2. Place the meat on a parchment paper and use a roller or beer bottle to roll the meat to 2-3mm thick.
3. Put the meat sheet onto the braking tray.
4. Preheated oven at 120°C and bake for 20mins.
5. Increased to180°C and bake for another 20mins. (Watch out as it will burned easily)
6. Cooled and cut.

Almond Cookies

I always like to have light afternoon break with my Nespresso Coffee, cakes and cookies. Thanks to my hubby, my homemade cookies run out quite fast. Sometimes when he reached home, i was still preparing dinner and he will go the search for something to munch.

Ingredients:
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
4 drops of almond essence
150g self-raising flour, sifted
25g grounded almonds

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line your baking tray with non-stick baking paper. (I used non-stick baking tray.
2. Cut the butter into smaller pieces. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.*
3. Beat in half the egg with almond essence.
4. Add flour and almonds. Use hand to work into a soft dough.
5. Rolll into a long dough and cut them into equal small pieces.
6. Roll each small piece into a ball and place onto the baking tray. Flatten each slightly. Place them with space apart.**
7. Beat the reserved egg with 2 tablespoon of cold water and brush over the cookies. Bake for 15 minutes until pale golden and crisp.***

*I bake this at night when the room temperature is at about 6°C. I know if i used my mixer to mix the butter and sugar, the butter will not melt, therefore i beat at hand first then i transfer to the mixer to mix further.
**You have to leave enough space. When you put into the oven, during baking, the cookies will expand its width.
***I put 3 pieces to test out how much it will expand, and i forgotten to brush with the egg but it turn out quite nice, therefore i skip this for the rest of my cookies.

Ham Roll Asparagus with Milk Onion Soup

I kind of missed my mum dishes that inspired me to cook this. Is not the Asparagus that i missed but the milky soup, so i decided to test it out. The result was not too bad. Initially i wanted to used Campbell's Creamy Soup as the base but my hubby don't like, that's the reason why i try to create the same look with different taste.
I like to delicate this new created dish to my mummy. I just missed her so much.

Ingredients:

2 large piece of Ham
10 asparagus
1/2 onion, shredded
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp salt
200 ml milk
200 ml water
2 tsp chicken stock, powdered

Method:
Preparation for Asparagus

1. Cook asparagus in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and soak in cold water till cool down then drain off the water. Cut into 3 sections.
2. Cut the Ham to long slices and wrap the asparagus. Length of the ham should be about 1 1/2 round when wrap.
3. Heat the oil in frying pan. Place the Ham Roll in single layer and cook till the ham is slightly brown. Turn over and cook the other side.

Preparation for Milk Onion Soup

1. Use a small sauce pan or pot, add the water and bring it to boil.
2. Add in chicken stock powder and onion, cook till the onion are soft.
3. Add in milk to the soup and bring it to boil.

Optional: You can add corn starch solution to make the soup taste creamy like the Campbell soup.
Optional: I wanted to have equal length for the asparagus, therefore i have excess short leftover during the cutting, i add into the soup and boil with the onion.

Arrange the Ham Roll Asparagus onto the outer plate and pour the soup in the middle.

Homemade Egg Tofu

There is Chinese Supermarket which sell Tofu here which is about an hour drive, but the problem is i will go shopping and dinner after doing my marketing therefore my Tofu melt and turn jelly when i reached home. This is the reason why i decided to make my own Tofu. After getting my own Tofu, i was so decided to eat it in different ways. My favourite is to eat it with my special created Yakitori sauce.

Ingredient
380ml egg (about 6-7 large eggs, i used about 7)
1/3 tsp salt*
500ml unsweetened thick soy milk**
1 tsp corn starch : 1 Tbsp water
*(please remember to use the kitchen measuring spoon and NOT your la kopi teaspoon or drink soup tablespoon)
** (In SG you can buy the dou hua milk but ask the aunty don't add the sugar syrup. For me, i prepared my homemade soy milk)

Method
1.Break eggs and beat lightly together with the salt. Set aside and let the salt to further break down the egg whites.
2.Mix the corn starch and water together, set aside.
3.Bring the soy milk to boil and pour in the cornstach mixture. Stir well and let it cool down to warm.
4.Prepare your stemer and bring water to boil. Make sure the water level is slightly below the steaming rack.
5.Place a piece of cling wrap into your steaming vessel before you pour in the mixture.*
6.When soy milk has become warm, combine with eggs and beat lightly.
7.Pour the mixture over a sieve to seperate the egg white bits.
8.Steam over low heat for 30mins. Cover the steamer with lid.

*I used my silicon baking tray so i do not need to use the cling wrap.

Note: Please do not beat the egg and mixture too hard as it will create foams and bubbles that will realise in holes in your tofu. Before steaming, i use metal spoon to remove all the bubbles.

Ways to eat
1. You can eat this with some soy sauce
2. You can deep fry it
3. You can use my special sauce to dip it.

Chrizelyn Special Yakitori Sauce:

1 Tbsp Yakitori sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp of water

1.Mix Yakitori sauce, sugar, dark soy sauce (I used thick dark soy sauce) and water.
2.Pour the mixture into the sauce pan bring it to boil. (You can add more water if the mixture is too little.
3. Stir in the cornstarch solution. When it is boil, pour over the Tofu Egg and serve.*You can adjust the ratio yourself, as this is the taste i preferred.