Twisted Fried Pretzels Recipe

Twisted Fried Pretzels

Twisted Fried Pretzels Recipe Ingredients:

600 gm all purpose flour

4 Tbsp rice flour

100 gm cooking oil

280 ml water

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Instant yeast

1 tsp double action baking powder

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Sugar syrup(optional):

1 cup coarse sugar

160 ml water

2 - 3 tbsps all purpose flour

Twisted Fried Pretzels Recipe Method:

Mix all the ingredients for the plaits together and rest for 20 mins
Cut dough into tiny pieces and using the pasta machine, roll the dough out flat at the thickest (no. 7) and repeat with the rest of the dough pieces.
Change to the fetucinne size cutter and cut rolled dough. Cut one strip to measure 10 inches or smaller and use it as a guide for the other strips.
To twist - Roll a strip to a round rope shape and press down one end , using the other hand, push rope forward so that it gets twisted, as twisted as possible. Let the 2 ends meet and then fold in half again. pinch the ends or thread one end into the loop of the other. If it has been twisted well, it will form a plait by itself.
Deep fry the twisted plaits in hot oil until golden brown.
If you like it to be sugar coated, cook the sugar and water till thick, almost crystalise and then add in the fried plaits, sieve flour onto the plaits and fry till sugar crystalised

Dish up, leave to cool.

Serves

Mooncakes Disney Characters

Mooncakes Disney Characters

Mooncakes - Ping Pei

Mooncakes - Ping PeiMooncakes - Ping PeiMooncakes - Ping Pei

Mooncakes - Ping Pei

Mooncakes Recipe

Preparation of Golden Syrup:

600 gm granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp lime/lemon juice or citric acid

70 ml (2 ozs) water

Boil the sugar with 1/2 cup of water, lime/lemon juice till golden brown over a slow fire. Then add in 70 ml(2 ozs) water before turning off the fire

Preparation of Pastry Skin:

350 gm - 500 gm all purpose bleached flour

230 gm golden syrup

110 ml oil

1 tbsp potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate/kan sui

Mix golden syrup, oil and kan sui together and let it sit for at least 1 hour.

Add in 350 gm flour and mix into a dough. Knead until dough does not stick and is pliable (getting the correct consistency is important - add more flour if the syrup if the dough is too hard and not binding or adjust with more flour if the dough is too runny. )

Rest dough for another 30 minutes before using

Preparation of Lotus Paste:

600 gm lotus seeds with skin and in halves

1 tbsp pottassium carbonate & sodium bicarbonate solution(kan sui)

500 gm sugar

2 cups of peanut oil

60 gm (2 ozs) toasted melon seeds(kua yan)

60 gm (2 ozs) toasted kernel of olive seeds(lam yan)

2 ozs maltose

2 heap dessert spoon wheat starch(tung mein fun) - add this to 1/2 cup of oil from the 3 cups

Boil 600 gm of lotus seeds with 1 tbsp pottassium carbonate & sodium bicarbonate solution(kan sui) for 10 minutes.(Test to see if skins can be removed easily). Cool the lotus seeds and remove the skins and cores.

Using the pressure cooker, steam the lotus seeds for 15 - 20 minutes.

Put the lotus seeds in the food processor and blend till smooth and pour into a large microwable bowl.

Put 1 cup of oil and 150 gm of sugar in a cooking pan and cook till sugar is golden brown. (This must be under a low fire otherwise the sugar will get burnt) When the sugar is golden brown, put in together with the blended lotus seeds and the rest of the sugar. Also add the maltose and another 1/2 cup of oil.

Cook on high for 10 minutes, stir, and continue cooking at 3 - 5 minutes, stir when time is up. Cook until paste is nearly done, then add in the remaining 1/2 cup of oil which has the wheat starch. Continue to cook until done (The lotus paste is ready when it is thick and does not stick when tested).Add in the melon seeds and kernels of olive seeds and let it cool before using.

Preparation of Red bean Paste:

600 gm red beans

700 gm sugar

2 cups peanut oil (1 cup of oil, add in a heaped tbsp of plain flour)

90 gm (3 ozs) plain flour

2 tbsp rose jam/sugar (optional)

Put red beans and enough of water to cover the beans in the pressure cooker, cook uncovered for 5 minutes and then drain.

Put back the drained beans and enough of water in the pressure cooker. Cover and cook on highest pressure for 30 minutes. Remove cover when there is no more pressure.

Take a container and fill 3/4 of it with water. Place some cooked red beans in a sieve and place the sieve at the water surface of the container. Knead and sift the red beans. The food of the red beans will separate from the bean coats/shells and sink to the bottom of the container. Discard the bean coats and continue this process till all the red beans have been mashed and sifted.

Place this watery bean food in a muslin cloth sack or tea cloth and squeese out the water. Continue this process till the water from all bean food has been squeezed out.

Put drained bean food, 1 cup oil, sugar in a large microwable bowl and microwave on high for 10 minutes, stir and continue to cook on high 5 minutes at a time until nearly done. Add in the cup of oil that has the plain flour added in and continue to cook until ready. (time for cooking differs depending on how dry the bean food has been drained)

Add in the rose jam if using.

To assemble the mooncake:

Divide mooncake pastry to 35 -40g (big moulds)and 15g (small mooncake moulds). Knead each portion for a while and roll into a ball .

Divide mooncake paste to 120g (for big mooncake with yolks) and 30g (small mooncake), 140g (big mooncakes without yolks). Knead each portion a little and form each into a ball .

Lightly flour (using cake flour) your hands. Flatten a pastry dough to a 2.5-inch disk/circle. Press to make the edges thinner than the central part and place a ball of paste. Start pushing the paste against the dough . As you push the paste, the dough will start to enlarge. Press the centre of the paste lightly and place an egg yolk there(salted egg yolks should be cooked by addng in a tbsp of wine and steamed). Continue to wrap up the mooncake until the pastry fully cover the filling. Roll into a ball.

Lightly flour the mooncake. Place mooncake, seam side up, in mould. Flatten mooncake to conform to shape of mould . If using a wooden mould, bang upper, lower, left and right sides of mould to dislodge the mooncake. For plastic moulds, just bang slightly the sides of the mould and the mooncake will dislodge with ease.

Place cake on to a lined baking sheet (i use silpat/silicone baking liner). Repeat to shape remaining mooncakes.

Put the mooncakes in the middle of oven and turn on the broiler/grill/upper heat and broil for 5 minutes or until evenly brown. Remove mooncakes from oven and set aside for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and switch setting to oven 375 f convection.

In the meantime, prepare egg glaze.

Beat an egg slightly. Add 1 tsp oil and 1 tbsp water. Strain the egg mixture.

Brush with egg glaze . Stand for further 5 minutes before returning mooncakes to oven.

Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let is cool in the baking sheet before transfering to baking rack for further cooling.

Store for 2-3 days. Mooncakes will get set and the pastry skin will be shinny and soft and ready for serving.

Eight Treasure Rice Recipe

Eight Treasure Rice Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups long-grain white rice
3 cups glutinous rice
10 cups water
3 tablespoons peanut oil
6 Chinese dried mushrooms, soaked 20 minutes in warm water, squeezed dry, stemmed, caps finely diced
2 dried Chinese sausages (lup cheong), diced
1 boneless chicken thigh, diced
1 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked 20 minutes in warm water, drained
1/2 can lotus seeds(From a can of boiled lotus seeds)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bamboo shoots
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 scallions, chopped

Method:

Combine the rice and wash 3 times.

Heat the peanut oil in a wok until almost smoking. Stir-fry dried shrimp until fragrant, remove and set aside. Fry the Chinese sausages until fragrant, remove and set aside. Fry the diced chicken until brown and then add the mushrooms, onion, and bamboo shoots for 1-2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, five spice powder, sesame oil, and salt. Stir-fry to mix well, lastly add in the lotus seeds.

Cook the rice in the rice cooker with 10 cups of water and when it is done, add the stir-fried ingredients, mixing them through the rice. Cover and leave on warm for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

TO SERVE:

Stir the rice with chopsticks, adding the chopped scallions. Remove the rice from the pot and pack into a lightly oiled bowl, pressing in firmly.

(If preparing a day in advance, refrigerate in the bowl until just before needed.)

Steam the rice in the bowl for 10 minutes, and invert to serve.


Serves

Abacus Beads/Sueen Poon Chee

This traditional Hakka dish is eaten during festive celebrations such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival for prosperity. sueen poon chee, or abacus seeds, are springy discs of yam, shaped after its namesake. For this dish, the ingredients cooked with this abacus seeds have to be very flavorful.

Ingredients:

1 lb taro, cleaned, peeled and thinly sliced(i used frozen ones, thaw and slice)

12 ozs tapioca starch

3 tbsp cooking oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup dried shrimp, soak and coarsely chopped

11/4 cup shredded dried squid - soak

6 dried Chinese mushroom, soaked till soft and sliced

1/2 lb ground pork

1/4 lb chinese chives - cut into 1 inch in length

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

Method:

Steam taro until soft and mash.

Place the tapioca starch in a large mixing bowl and add hot taro paste to it, stirring it in well

When the taro and starch mixture has cooled , knead it to form a dough.

Pinch off enough dough to roll into a ball , 1 inch in diameter. Press the ball between your thumb and forefinger so that it is depressed in the middle and shaped like an abacus seed.

Repeat until dough is used up.

Fill a pot with water to the three-quarter mark and bring it to a boil.

Place abacus seeds in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the seeds from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When cooked, the seeds will float to the top. Scoop out the cooked abacus seeds and leave them aside to drain.

To a hot wok, add 2 tbsp oil and fry the garlic till golden brown before adding dried shrimp, shredded dried squid and mushroom. Stir fry the mixture , then set aside.

Add the remaining tbsp oil to the hot wok and fry the ground pork until it is cooked and no more pink.

Add in the cooked garlic, dried shrimp, shredded dried squid, mushroom, abacus seeds and the seasonings.

Add in the chinese chives and stir briefly.

Dish out and sprinkle with sesame oil.

Serve hot.

Serves

Golden Rice

Ingredients:

21 oz (600 g) basmati rice - soak for 30 minutes and then drain dry

2 oz (55 g) ghee or butter

Aromatics:

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 tbsp chopped garlic

4 shallots - thinly sliced

Spices:

1 - 2 inch cinnamon bark

8 cardamons lightly crushed

6 cloves

Seasoning:

1 chicken cube

1 1/2 tsp salt

40 fl oz (1.1 litre) boiling water

Coloring for the rice:

Mix 1 tsp yellow food coloring with 1/4 tsp Rose essence and 4 tbsp water.

Method:

Heat ghee or butter and add in the cinnamon bark and fry until the bark opens uo, then add in the aromatics until lightly browned.

Add in the rest of the spices and the drained rice.

Stir fry the rice until coated with oil and smell fragrant and nutty.

Pour in boiling water and seasonings.

Transfer to rice cooker and cook until done.

Sprinkle with yellow color mixture over rice and raisins(optional).

Loosen rice to mix in the color.

Top with fried shallots and cashew nuts before serving.

Serves

Hainanese Chicken Rice

This hainanese chicken rice meal was eaten awhile ago and everytime i sat to write about it, my mind was blank and finger's frozen, fingers are on the keyboard but they were not moving. It could be the cold that froze the fingers and i think the mind too. The fingers must have been saying - come on, i am ready but no text???????. Hope i am thinking better this morning.

Oh, i am supposed to write about Hainanese Chicken Rice - should i write about Hainanese, i think not cos this is a food blog and i am sure all would want to know about the chicken or the rice. What so special about having a chicken meal nowadays, it is served practically daily but not so when i was growing up. We only have chicken during festivals and a whole chicken would have to shared amongst our family of 3 adults and 7 children and festivals only come around 2 - 3 months apart. The day of the festival, in the early morning, my mom would go to the wet market to get the chicken. The chickens then were still very much alive and were housed in large bamboo baskets. Mom had a friend, his name is Ah Kau(cantonese for dog or the number nine - we finally found out that he was the ninth in his family)who owned the chicken stall, as soon my mom arrived, he would look into the baskets, looking for the fattest and most beautiful hen - no cockerel/rooster for the festivals. He would reach for one and the first thing Uncle Ah Kau did was to feel the breast and commented that this was fat and meaty. The next thing he would brush the feathers at the butt apart and showed to mom, i don't know what they were looking at but she nodded and seemed to agree with him. I have now found out what they were looking at, the butt of course. They were looking to see if the hen laid eggs before and that will show that it is too matured and the meat will not be as tender if it were to be prepared the one and only way/recipe - white steamed/poached. We might not be given the priviledge of looking at the butt now in the supermarket but make sure that the chicken is 4 lbs/2 kg, then you can be assured of producing a very velvety, meaty chicken for Hainanese Chicken Rice.

This chicken rice meal we had for dinner was sponsored by my dear friend Ting Ting, who have a chicken coop enough to house more than 20 chickens. She had reared them from chicks and now there are pullets, hens and roosters. It is the roosters that get to be our dinners cos Ting Ting does not want to have anymore unpleasant complaints from her neighbor, she told her sons Hunter and August to observe the roosters and as soon as they start to crow, the rooster will be Ting Ting's dinner or her friends.

Below is good read and good to know:

Chick: A hatchling


Capon: A castrated male used for meat. (How much could that yield?) Yeem Kai

Pullet: A female chicken under one year old.

Hen: A female chicken over one year of age

Rooster: A male chicken over one year of age

I will not write about the rice now of which the preparation is also very important cos i am into something which i promise you will be a good thing. Look for the good thing in my coming posts, pray that i don't get writer's block.

Ingredients:

Chicken - more than 4 lbs (if you are lucky, Ting Ting's rooster will crow)
Jasmine Rice
Sides - cucumber and tomatoes
Sauces - chopped garlic, special homemade chilly sauce, oyster sauce with fragrant oil or black sauce.

Serves

Almond Pear Tart

Almond Pear Tart

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This rich almond tart is always a perfect dessert to be served after Christmas Dinner. This is super darn tasty!! It has a strong almond flavor but it is also delicate and lovely. The best part is, it is relatively easy to bake, looks impressive and and tastes delicious without being overwhelming.

Ingredients:
1 sheet (1/2 of 17.03 oz box) puff pastry - thawed in the fridge
1-7 oz box Odense Almond Paste, grated
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
2 large (not extra large) eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large can (30 oz) pears halves in heavy syrup

Optional: Raspberries or powdered sugar


TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
9-10 inch tart pan

Method:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Lay in ungreased tart pan and gently push dough into sides. Roll across top with rolling pin to cut off excess. Place pan on baking sheet.

Add Almond Paste, sugar and butter to a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed to incorporate. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat on high for 3 minutes and pour batter into tart shell.

Drain pears. Place pears cut side down on a cutting board. Make 4 length-wise diagonal slices, about 1/8" from top of pear through the bottom, so pear slices will fan out.

Place pears close to edge of tart, and arrange decoratively on batter and bake for 45 minutes or until firm.
Save any remaining pears for serving with cooked tart.
Tent with a piece of aluminum foil if tart is browning too quickly.
Tart is done when a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Rest tart on wire rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
Serve tart warm or cold with raspberries, pears or sifted powdered sugar

Serves

Mui Choy Kau Yoke Recipes

This is a very popular dish in Asia which appears on the dinning table during any asian festivals. It is very deliciously sinful, mouth watering.

Taste the intense flavour and the fats of the pork melting in your mouth. . The preserved Mui Choy (dried salted veggie but sweet) has a nice balance which is light tasting and goes well with the meat soft texture. This dish might not be so acceptable by healthy freaks who shy away from most fat but in this case the fat actually gets soaked up by the 'mui choy' and become very 'mui', giving glory to it's name. "Mui" in cantonese means 'soft' .

Ingredients:

1 lb pork belly - trimmed to a nice square piece
3 slices ginger
2 stalk s green onion
1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine
A pinch of salt

1 tbsp light soy sauce for rubbing the skin of blanched belly pork

8 ozs sweet mui choy, washed, soaked and cut into small 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbsp chopped garlic

Sesame oil
Garnishes





Seasonings for sauce:

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce (depends to how dark you like)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Shoaxing Hua Tiau wine

Seasonings for mui choy:

1 tbsp light soy sauce1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Shoaxing Hua Tiau wine
1/2 tbsp sugar
a dash of five spice powder
1/2 cup stock

METHOD :

Boil 2 cups of water with the ginger slices, green onions, shaoxing wine, and salt and put in the piece of belly pork to partially cook the meat.

Remove and prick the skin of the belly pork, pat dry with kitchen towel before rubbing the skin with light soya sauce.

In a heated wok of about 1 inch oil, deep-fry the skin until golden brown.

Remove from oil and put belly pork into a large bowl of water, to rid of access fat.

When pork is cool enough to handle, slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Mix the seasonings for the sauce and put the seasonings onto the bowl which can fit into the pressure cooker.

Arrange the pork slices on the sauce - skin side down.


Prepare the mui choy:

In a wok, heat up 1 tbsp oil and saute the garlic until fragrant. Add in mui choy pieces and stir-fry before adding in the seasoning. Continue to stir fry until aromatic. Dish up and top it on top of the arranged pork slices.

There should be enough liquid to cover the mui choy and add in more stock if necessary.

Cover the bowl with heavy duty aluminium foil.

Put a steam rack and 1 inch of water into pressure cooker, then put the bowl on top of rack. Cover the pressure cooker and pressurized for 3/4 hr to 1 hour. Allow the pressure to release by itself before opening the pressure cooker.

Remove the aluminium foil and drain the sauce into a microwave safe bowl.

Overturn the bowl on to the serving platter.

Microwave the sauce for 1 minute on high and thicken the sauce with 1 tbsp of tapioca starch which has been diluted with 1 tbsp water. Cook for another 1 1/2 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Pour thicken sauce over the pork and drizzle with sesame oil..

Garnish and serve hot.