 | Category: | | Soups & Stews | | Servings: | | 4 generous bowl |
Description:My husband is in love with mushroom. He simply loves that overpowering fragrant and the tender and crunchy texture. So I thought this is the chance to get him to eat more vegetable and I made mushroom cream soup.
There are tons of variations out there but the one from Cooking for Engineers is great for the use of roux, a mixture of butter and flour which is basically a thickening agent with a twist: it provides a silky texture to the soup and a somewhat added richness which marries so well with mushroom. I guess it's also OK to add in corn starch at the end for a quick version.
This recipe calls for a use of zucchini because I love zucchini in soups (for a tinge of sweetness) and because I have one left-over which I don't know what to do with. Feel free to eliminate it.
Ingredients:here...
Directions: I know I'm pimping my other blog... 
 | Category: | | Pasta | | Servings: | | for 2 persons |
Description:I thought up this dish when I was into roasting eggplants to make Jamie Oliver's Creamy Aubergine, Cannellini Bean and Ricotta Soup. Roasted eggplants yield amazing marrowy, sweet and fragrant meat. I thought it'd go well with fish, garlic, and chili in sort of a Mediterranean influenced pasta.
I gave it a try today and I wasn't disappointed. The sweet tender flesh created an almost creamy and, dare I say, sensual dish with sardines and chili providing depth.
I was lucky that the wine in the fridge was the 2006 Anselmi San Vincenzo, a beautiful and refreshing food wine.
Ingredients:1 medium to large-sized eggplant, pierced all over with a fork
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ground dried chilies, or to taste
1 can of sardine in oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Enough pasta for two
Directions:Grill the eggplant in the 200 degrees Celsius oven for about 45-50 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skin and slice the flesh into long thin strips. Set aside.
Cook pasta as per manufacturer's direction.
Meanwhile, drain the sardine with its oil in a pan. Add garlic and chili and fry very gently while the pasta is cooking.
About 3 minutes before the pasta is done, dump in the eggplant strips and crank up the heat. Season with a pinch of salt and let the flavours meld.
When the pasta is done, drain and dump it to the pan. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 Description:Thanks to Chica, I now have a great base for my cookies. Her recipe yields soft, buttery and chewy cookies, the type I also love. I modified the recipe slightly, by reducing the sugar and using espresso powder instead of coffee flavourings. She suggested the peanut butter alternative by adding chopped peanuts and 3 tbsp of peanut butter while I think of using Pumpkin Spice or simple grated ginger with lemon zest for the winter cookies.Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup/225 g room-temperature butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp espresso powder, diluted with equal amount of hot water
2 cups finely chopped dark chocolateDirections:
Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Mix flour with baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Mix butter and sugar with medium speed until fluffy. Add the eggs and coffee mixture and mix well. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chopping. Mix with low speed until well-combined.
Scoop the dough onto a baking-paper lined cookie sheet with spoons (I used ice-cream scoop as I'm so clumsy with this quenelle shaping). Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Cool completely before storing.
 | Category: | | Appetizers & Snacks |
Description:This is one of my favourite Korean appetizers. I can literally eat bowls of this stuff. Due to the lack of soy-bean sprouts (I tried making them myself but failed) here to make Bean Sprout Salad (Kong Na Mul Mu Chim), this cold appetizer always accompanies any Korean dishes that I make at home. Today, I serve it with Korean Cold Noodles Ingredients:150 g spinach, roots discarded and cut into 2 parts, stalks and leaves
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
Directions:Bring a pot of water to boil and sprinkle some salt. Place the spinach in, stalk first. When stalks are almost done, add leaves. Remove from heat as soon as water comes to boil again.
Rinse spinach in ice-cold water and drain. Squeeze out any excess water with your hands.
Cut spinach into shorter sections and mix with crushed garlic, salt and sesame oil. Toss well then sprinkle some sesame seeds.
Serve or store for up to a day in the fridge.
 Description:
Summertime,
And the livin' is blistering
We are sweating
And cold noodle is right
*Adapted from Feast of Flavours from the Korean Kitchen
Ingredients:
White wheat noodles 400 g
Beef/Anchovy stock 750 ml, strained and chilled
Kimchi brine 125 ml
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Cucumber 1, sliced
Hard-boiled eggs 2, peeled and sliced
Optional:
Kimchi 200g, chopped
Sugar 1 tbsp
Salt 1 tbsp
Sesame oil 1 tsp
Directions:Bring noodles to the boil in some water. Drain then rinse noodles under running water before plunging into ice-cold water. Drain noodles in a sieve.
If using, mix kimchi with sugar, salt and sesame oil. Set aside. I find Kimchi too strong for this delicate soup and will eliminate it.
Place noodles in a pot with cold stock and kimchi brine. Stir in vinegar. Mix well.
Dish noodles out into individual bowls and top with cucumber, eggs, and kimchi (if using). Serve cold.
 | Category: | | Other | | Servings: | | a pint of chili oil |
Description:I love chili oil and douse it on various chinese dishes to add complexity. I am always suspicious by the bright orange colour of the store-bought chili oil so I make it myself with the recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery. I add about 3-4 tablespoons of sesame oil into her recipe for added fragrance.
Ingredients:100 g chili flakes with seeds (obtained from crushing whole dried chilies in a food processor after snipping them in half and frying them, with their seeds, in a little oil until fragrant)
550 ml groundnut or corn oil
Optional:
a small piece of fresh ginger with peel, crushed
a star anise
3 tbsp of sesame oilDirections:Put the chili flakes into a glass preserving jar.
Heat the oil with ginger and star anise, if using, over high flame until smoking hot.
Remove from the heat, discard the ginger, add the sesame oil and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, to 120 - 130 degrees Celsius. Pour on the chilies, stir once or twice, and leave to cool in a shady place. The oil and chilies will fizz and swirl around at first but the chili flakes will settle as the oil cools.
Use the oil after a couple of days. It keeps for a few months in the fridge
 | Category: | | Other | | Servings: | | two generous bowls |
Description:I dislike porridge because I associate it with illnesses. My mother always made us eat plain porridge with a douse of soy-sauce to cleanse the body. The tongue, which was already numb from whatever ailment we had, had to suffer though the thick gruel spiked with sharp flavour of soy-sauce. Horrible.
Until one day. We were in KL and had dimsum at Mandarin Oriental and ordered their congee. I was surprised at the texture: it was silky and thin and delicately flavoured. I vowed to discover more congee like that back home as, at that time in Jakarta, a lot of congee still display the original grains of rice albeit swollen beyond recognition.
Of course now, they are everywhere. My favourite so far is from Congee Queen (or King or its other subsidiaries) in Toronto. When I left, there was not many of such places in Jakarta.
The good thing is, this type of congee is not at all hard to make at home as long as you own a slow cooker. The only problem is, I can't find decent century eggs here. Otherwise, life would be perfect. Here it is.
Disclaimer: I can't vouch for the quality of the said restaurant in KL's Mandarin Oriental anymore because that was close to 7 years ago!Ingredients:2 pieces of chicken thighs
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 thumb of ginger, peeled and crushed
1 cup of rice
6 cups of water
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
Fish sauce to taste (can be replaced with soy-sauce but I don't want my congee to have colour)
A few pieces of white cloud mushroom, soaked in hot water and chopped. It adds texture and I happen to have some left over in the fridge.
Garnish:
Spring onion, finely chopped (I used the middle part of fresh green onion I have lying around the house)
Chili oil
Directions:Put the chicken pieces, garlic and ginger in a pot and cover with water (approx. 6 cups). Season with salt to taste. Bring to boil and let it simmer at low heat for about 2 hours to produce clear broth.
Fish out the chicken and let cool. Put the rice with the broth in a slow cooker and cook at the low setting for about 4-5 hours or until the rice grains swell and split. Please take care not to burn the congee when broth has been all absorbed by the rice grains.
When the chicken are cool enough to handle, chop the meat and season with salt, fish sauce (if using), and pepper. Set aside. When the congee is ready, start to fry the meat briefly in a pan to let the flavour meld. Remove from fire and douse it with sesame oil.
Remove the thick congee into a pot. Thin with more water to the desired consistency and adjust the taste. Heat the mixture until piping hot.
To assemble, pour the hot porridge into a deep bowl. Top it with the chicken mixture and garnish with spring onion. Sprinkle chili oil for added punch.
 | Category: | | Side Dishes & Condiments |
Description:OK, this is another what-we-had-for-dinner posting but I can't wait to share the recipes with you.
As an Asian, the idea of combining sweet and salty, fruit and cheese is foreign. I was very skeptical until I had my first bite of creamy cheese with grape. Then it was love at the first bite. It's still not something I crave for in time of distress but I get to really appreciate the theory behind the pairing and allow me to venture into challenging territories for my cooking ideas.
One of the best fruit-cheese combination in my view is watermelon and feta. The sweet watermelon brings out the creaminess in feta (feta is not normally associated with creaminess) and tempers its saltiness. Its sandy texture slathers the tongue with, well, uniquely sandy sensation in every bite. The feta also adds depth and dimension to the often flat sweetness of the watermelon (I hate watermelon for that reason: either it's overly sweet, overly sour, or the worst, plain tasteless). Once the salad is gone, what's left is a pretty orange/pink oil and juice remains, full of salty-sweet flavour, perfect for dipping crusty breads into. It's a great summer dish when the days are hot and watermelons abundant.
In its Greek spirit, I paired that with a recipe I modified from Culinaria Greece. I made a mistake of using smallish tomatoes when it calls for the huge, fat Beefsteak Tomatoes. Anyhow, the results were wonderful in both texture and fragrant. The plump, slightly roasted rice was al-dente and the smell from a combination of onion, mint, and olive oil in tomatoes were just mouth-watering. Be warned that this dish is simple and it relies heavily on the flavour of good tomatoes so expect blandness if using less-than-stellar produce. On a hindsight, this particular dish is a perfect companion to a piece of grilled meat seasoned simply with salt and pepper rather than as a main vegetarian dish.
Ingredients:
Watermelon and feta salad
A wedge (approx. 1/8) of sweet watermelon
100 g of feta in olive oil
A handful of finely-chopped fresh mint
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Tomato juice (optional)
Stuffed Tomatoes
6 tomatoes
1 onion or shallot, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of rice (preferably long-grained but I used my Thai rice)
A handful of finely-chopped mint leaves
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
Watermelon and feta salad
In a large bowl, mix the olive oil (from the feta if possible), feta, coarsely crumbled, and the finely-chopped mint about an hour before serving.
Cut the watermelon into bite-sized pieces and place in the oil bowl. Mix carefully to avoid mashing the watermelon and aggravating the feta further. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Add more olive oil if necessary (be generous). Serve immediately.
Stuffed Tomatoes
Cut a slice off the top of the tomatoes to form a lid. With a small spoon, scoop up the flesh and seeds of tomatoes and puree them.
In a pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onions. Stir in the rice, season with salt and pepper, fry briefly and add half (or all, depending on how juicy your tomatoes are) of the pureed tomato flesh. Bring briefly to boil, then remove the pan from the heat and allow the rice to swell a little (the mixture will thicken). Stir in the mint and fill two-thirds of the tomatoes cavity with the mixture.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish, season overall with salt and pepper, pour a little more olive oil and the remaining pureed tomatoes (or if none is left, replace it with tomato juice). Place the lids on the tomatoes and bake them in the oven for about 3/4 to 1 hour. Then remove the lids and bake a further 10 minutes to brown the filling. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, replace the lids and serve hot.
 | Rösti | Apr 20, '08 6:17 AM
for everyone |
 | Category: | | Breakfast & Brunch | | Servings: | | for two |
Description:I love fried grated potatoes such as rösti or hash brown although, if I could only have one, I'd have deeply-tanned, crispy, juicy hash brown anytime. But rösti is a great substitute and good company for a lot of Swiss dishes.
Rösti is actually very simple but simple often means extremely difficult to do. This week, I finally manage to create a proper rösti after numerous torturous trials. My rösti is golden and crisp and fragrant. Yay!
The tricks, I discovered, are abundant:
a. use the right potatoes (obviously). Rösti calls for the same potatoes that are used to make french fries ie. the mealy type (dry, crumby, powdery).
b. boil them until half-cooked as frying will cook them further.
c. do not mix! This was my biggest mistake. Try not to disturb the potato patty as it is being fried. Mixing will induce clumping. We want the flakes to remain separated.
d. be patient. Let the bloody thing crisp slowly.
e. do not over-oil. Over-oiling will produce soggy and darkened rösti.
f. use a non-stick pan to save your sanity.
g. practice and practice again to discover the perfect control over your own variables (amount of potatoes, stove heat, pan characteristics, size of spoon, etc).
Now that we have mastered the proper rösti making, the permutation is endless. Serve it with sunny-side up for breakfast (no self-respecting Swiss will eat this for breakfast, though), with fleischkäse, a sunny-side up, and spinach puree, with blood and liver sausages, with sliced veal in mushroom sauce, with St. Galler Bratwurst and onion sauce, etc.
I am ready to leave Switzerland now.
Ingredients:
300-500 g potatoes (4-6 medium sized)
4-6 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Lightly salted water for boiling
Optional:
4-6 champignons, thinly sliced
Directions:
Peel the potatoes and place them in a pot of lightly salted water. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 7 minutes or until, when pierced, the potatoes feel raw and crunchy in the middle. Remove from fire and let cool.
Depending on your pan size, you may need to do it in batches. I do the recipe above in 2 batches so this instruction is for half.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, grate them coarsely. Pour approx. 2-3 tbsp of oil onto a pan and heat it until hot but not smoking. Pour the grated potatoes and pat them into a thin patty. Sprinkle salt and pepper and half of the mushroom, if using. Let it cook on high heat for about 7 minutes watching carefully to ensure it doesn't burn. When the bottom are golden brown, flip it.
If you're good, you can do it with a flick of a wrist. If you're clumsy like me, flip it in pieces. Broken rösti doesn't mean the end of the world (not at this stage anyway).
Tidy up the patty again into a circle and let it cook for about 7 minutes. Check the bottom. When it's golden brown, lower the heat to medium. If 7 minutes are up and you think the rösti is not crispy enough, cook further. When done, slide the patty carefully onto a plate. Adjust the seasoning if required.
 Description:This soup, introduced by a Malaysian friend who is also a fanatical cook, is a firm favourite. Easily and cheaply made, it creates a deeply satisfying meal for rainy days.
We like the tender, slightly fatty meat which still requires some gnawing to pry them from the bone. The spice mix provides warmth and comfort to the soup. With veggies in it, too, it's a nutritious one-pot meal!
I normally use pork bones as they're easier to find here but the original recipe calls for beef ribs or oxtail.
Modified from Homestyle Malay Cooking, courtesy of the said Malaysian friend.
Ingredients:
1 kg bones (beef ribs, oxtail, pork ribs/spine), cut into large chunks
4 cm ginger, scraped and bruised
4 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised
3 lt water
2 onions, cut into wedges
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 carrot, scraped and thickly sliced
Salt to taste
2 spring onions, thinly sliced for garnish
Optional:
Lotus roots, peeled and thinly sliced
Eliminated:
1 sprig chinese celery, thinly sliced for garnish
4 tbsp deep-fried shallots for garnish
Spice mix: 2 tbsp or to taste
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick (4 cm)
4 cardamom pods, bruised
8 cloves
2 star anise pods
Directions:
Dry fry the spice mix ingredients in a skillet over low heat until crisp and fragrant but not yet browned, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cooled, grind the mixture in a mortar or spice grinder until fine.
Place the space mix, bones, ginger, onion, garlic and water in a large pot. Bring to boil, skimming off the scum frequently. Then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently until the meat is tender, about 2-3 hours, adding water as needed.
Halfway through cooking, add tomatoes, potatoes, and carrot (or lotus roots if using) and season with salt. Bring to boil again, cover and simmer further. Serve hot with garnishes.
 | Category: | | Other | | Servings: | | 4 (175 ml) cups |
Description:Hot chocolate is such a generic term. It applies to concoction made from Milo to the creamy, luxurious beverage served in dainty little cups.
Similar to my argument about fresh and dried pasta, that these two are different types of food, some hot chocolates cannot be fairly compared. Hot days call for cheap, pre-powdered, supermarket-bought cocoa mixed with refreshing cold milk while cold winter require the heavier, creamier stuffs which are normally better made with better quality chocolates. One thing for sure though, it has to be dark.
Anyway, I tested this recipe when I re-read Jeffrey Steingarten's It must've been something I ate. His recipe is as decadent as the ones served on Parisian cafes. It should be: that drink is made of 120 g dark bittersweet chocolate and 60 g of sugar! Granted, that recipe is for 4 cups but still...
PS: I can't recommend the book enough. I read it a long time ago in Jakarta and decided it's one of those book I'd have to carry here because of its European content. It's funny, insightful, arrogant. I regret I left the other one at home.
Ingredients:
550 ml whole milk
50 ml water
30 g caster sugar (I cut the original's maddening quantity to half)
1 100 g 70% chocolate (I use my faithful Lindt)
28 g cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)
Directions:
In a 2 litre saucepan, stir together the milk, water and sugar. Bring to boil over medium heat. Add the chopped chocolate and cocoa and bring to boil again, whisking until the chocolate and cocoa are dissolved and the mixture has thickened. Reduce heat to very low.
Blend for 5 minutes with a wand mixer or whirl the hot chocolate in a standard blender for half a minute, until thick and foamy.
 | Category: | | Meat & Seafood | | Servings: | | for two or three peopel |
Description:
I apologize if recent postings look like a scene from Fear Factor. However, this is a favourite Sunday brunch at my parents' house which I love to recreate here and need to document.
I dislike eating this dish in restaurants because often they are poorly cooked: bitter and tough instead of clean and crunchy. Securing fresh kidneys was not easy so when mom found some, I was in for a rare treat.
Her recipe is really simple. The key is knowing when to remove the kidneys from the boiling water for succulence and crispness which is really easier said than done. The fragrant sesame oil completes the experience.
If I had a really hot, gas stove, I'd have probably tried sauteing it over a very hot wok. But I don't. So I stick to this. It's great anyway.
Ingredients:
Pork/Veal kidney, 2 lobes - cored, cleaned and cut into thin slices
Garlic, 3-4 cloves, smashed with a cleaver
Ginger, 5-6 thick slices
Chili, 3, finely chopped
Spring onion
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil
Frying oil
Shao Xing wine
Napa cabbage (bai cai) - shredded
Directions:
Bring a pot of water with 2-3 cloves of garlic and 4 slices of ginger to furious boil. Dump the sliced kidneys and let them cook to desired doneness (please check frequently to avoid overcooking them).
Meanwhile, blanch the napa cabbages with boiling water or microwave them. Shake the excess water out and arrange them on a plate.
Scoop the kidneys out with a slotted spoon and arrange them on top of the cabbage.
Gently fry the chilies, spring onion, and remaining garlic and ginger in frying oil until fragrant. Increase the heat and pour the Shao Xing wine, soy sauce, and finally sesame oil. Let them bubble for a few seconds. Switch off the fire and pour the sauce onto the kidney and cabbage and serve.
 Description:OK, I'm shallow. But I don't want to scare people off. This is the recipe for pigs' ears, chinese style.
My husband has been nagging me to cook this for a while. At first, I was excused because I couldn't find any in the stores here. The truth is I'm not a fan of pig's ears: they've got a funny smell and too thick, glutinous a skin layer. However, we encountered a pair in the supermarket, cleaned and cooked, ready for further cooking. I have no more excuse.
I searched for a recipe and found one here (Thanks Stella!) so I made this today for my husband's dinner when I'm away on a business trip this Wednesday.
I made some adjustments to the recipe to suit my taste: among other things, I added a dash of vinegar to balance the sweet soy sauce, eliminated the sugar and the soy sauce.
I'm sure he has fond thoughts of me on Wednesday.
Ingredients:
A pair of pig's ears, preferably cleaned and cooked, cut to bite-sized pieces
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp five-spices powder
3 pieces star anise
A dash of vinegar
Sweet soy sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Water to dilute the sauce (approx. 100-200 ml)
Directions:
Fry the garlic and onion gently until fragrant. Dump in the bite-sized ears and the seasonings. Mix well and let the flavours meld together for a few minutes.
Add water to the sauce until desired thickness is reached. Cook until the ears are tender.
Serve with steamed rice and veggies.
 | Category: | | Pasta | | Servings: | | for (two) or three (very) hungry people |
Description:OK! I'm now officially a mentally worrying person. I just made my own fresh pasta from scratch!
I've always wanted to try this for the longest time. While dried, manufactured pastas are perfectly delicious (I love Barilla), nothing beats the toothsome (yes, I'm into that word), biting, and smooth texture of freshly made pasta. The two almost seem to be different kinds of food which deserve to be treated differently.
I always think it's a sin to serve freshly made pasta with anything substantial which may overpower its delicate texture. Therefore, strangely, I always think that freshly made pasta is a strictly vegetarian affair. For this purpose, I serve it with gently fried garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, oyster mushroom and generously-grated parmesan.
We served this with an excellently full-bodied Chilean Chardonnay. A perfect afternoon for my birthday!
PS: my husband did his chauvinistic thing by taking over the pasta rolling. It is hard work and I don't care for it very much so I'm glad he takes over. He thinks it's a man's job, save for those Italian-mamas. Fine by me.
Ingredients:
For the fresh pasta
300 g all-purpose flour (some UK-based recipes call for Flour no. 00. I've no idea what that is).
4 eggs (if you're using all-purpose flour as I did. The recipes call for approx. 1 egg for 100 g of flour but I find it too dry).
A splash of olive oil (optional)
Yields about 450 g pasta
For rest
5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
5 slices of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely shredded
100 g of oyster mushroom (or any fresh mushroom), chopped
A few tablespoons of tomato oil for sauteeing
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan to taste
Directions:
For the fresh pasta:
See this video.
This is how the fresh pasta looks like.
For the rest
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al-dente (about 3 minutes).
Meanwhile, gently fry the finely minced garlic in tomato oil. Once fragrant, dump in the tomato slivers and then the mushroom. Fry gently while waiting for the pasta to be cooked and drained. Toss the cooked pasta into the mixture and serve with freshly grated peppers and parmesan.
| Guo Tie | Mar 22, '08 3:08 PM
for everyone |
 | Category: | | Meat & Seafood | | Servings: | | approx. 50 - 60 pieces |
Description:Please bear the long commentary because Guo Tie is a subject that's close to my heart and stomach and I want to ramble today.
Our family's obsession with Guo Tie started when my mother found a nice little Shantung shop run by an elderly couple, near our house many years ago. The skin was always perfectly toothsome (not too thin and not too thick), moist yet al-dente (some guo tie's skins can be dry and stony) and the filling juicy. The accompanying chili sauce, laden with sharp, raw garlic, drove us to addiction. When the kids came back from school during summer holidays, my mother had to do the embarrassing thing of ordering close to 80 pieces of guo tie from this shop because each of us were committed to eat about 20 pieces per person. Those were fun times...
One day, Cereth posted a recipe for Guo Tie. I was rather blown away by the simplicity of making the wrapper, a step which I've always thought as difficult. Guo Tie is not to be confused with wonton: wonton skin is silky from the egg. And let it be known that Guo Tie, or rather Jiao Zi, is the root of all the fashionable gyoza (Japanese) and mandu (Korean). Depending on how it's done, it's called different things: boiled (Shui Jiao), steamed (Zheng Jiao), and steamed/fried (Guo Tie). The boiled ones are common in Beijing where, from a side-street stalls, you can order dumplings filled with different stuffings (from meat to chives to garlic!) and, while waiting for their orders, patrons peel garlic (yes, more garlic) to be popped into the mouth along with vinegar-bathed Shui Jiao.
Anyway, I finally found the time this Easter holiday to do this 'project'. For research (this recipe is created by picking and combining several strewn in the internet), I browsed a few recipes and some called for the dough to rest for 15-30 minutes. That's a blatant lie! I let mine rest and was rewarded with gunk when I rolled it out. So, don't.
After whining to my husband and showing him the gunk, he took pity on me and helped me with wrapping the dumplings while I rolled out little skins. We really enjoyed our fruit of labour. Although, I must say that people who live in Jakarta and make their own Guo Tie on regular basis (as opposed to just try it once or twice for knowledge) are mentally worrying. The efforts involved simply do not justify the results. And please.... give some business to others, will you?
Ingredients:
For the wrapper:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
A splash of oil
For the filling:
approx. 600 g ground pork (I mixed that with approx. 50g of lard because meat here is so lean)
200 g chinese cabbage, very finely chopped
To taste:
Dried shrimp (ebi), soaked in water to soften
Garlic cloves
Ginger
Spring onion, finely chopped
Soy-sauce
Chingkiang vinegar
Shao Xing wine
Sesame oil
Salt and pepper
Oil for sauteing
More boiling water
For dipping sauce:
Garlic, red chilies, and ginger whizzed in a chopper
Chingkiang vinegar
Soy-sauce
Sesame Oil
Directions:
For the wrapper:
Mix the flour and salt well. Pour in the oil and then the boiling water little by little into the dry ingredients. Mix well until it forms an elastic and smooth dough. If the dough feels dry and tears easily when kneaded, add a little water using a spoon (to ensure control).
On a flour-dusted surface, tear the dough into little balls and flatten the ball into circular disks of uniformed size and thickness using a rolling pin. The thinner the better.
For the filling:
Salt the chopped cabbage evenly and let it rest for about 30 minutes. (or, next time, I will steam this first until soft). Thereafter, squeeze the water out. Do not be afraid to use power and mash those fibres!
Place the ebi, garlic, ginger, spring onion, and lard (if using) into a food processor. Pulse until smooth, adding drops of water if required to facilitate the process. Mix the paste into the ground meat. Add in the squeezed cabbage and mix well. Season with the seasoning and adjust the taste. The seasoning should not overpower but should complement the sweet meat juices.
Fill the disks with a teaspoon of filling. Crimp the edges. Repeat until the fillings and dough are used up.
Place a teaspoon of oil on a non-stick frying pan and swirl. Place the dumplings on the pan cheek to cheek. Shake the pan a little to ensure that the bottom of the dumplings get their share of oil. Heat the pan and fry the dumplings for about 2 minutes in medium heat. Then, pour a circle of boiling water around the dumpling and quickly cover the pan. Let the dumplings steam for about 3-4 minutes or until the fillings are properly cooked. Open the cover and let the water steam away (watch this process so that the bottoms do not get burnt). Shake the pan and flip the dumplings if you choose to brown both sides. Let them heat up for about a minute. Remove from heat. Repeat with the rest of the batch.
Serve the dumplings with a dipping sauce made from finely chopped garlic, ginger, and chilies mixed with soy-sauce, dark vinegar, and sesame oil.
PS: the excess dough is great served as noodle. Normally served with hot and sour soup.
 | Category: | | Baking | | Servings: | | about 2 dozen cookies |
Description:After the initial cookie-making success, I was encouraged to try another one. This time, I crave for a sweet-and-salty type. What else can it be but peanut butter cookies?
Recipe is modified very slightly from The Joy of Baking.
Ingredients:
170 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
185 grams peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips. I use chopped Lindt's Excellence 70% cacao
Directions:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Beat in the peanut butter. Add the egg and beat to combine. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
Cover and chill the dough for about an hour. Then, roll the dough into little balls. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, placing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Press the balls lightly to flatten them.
Place the baking sheet, with the cookies, in the refrigerator to firm up for about 10 minutes, if required. I skip this step.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and place rack in center of oven.
Bake the cookies for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Cool on a wire rack.
 | Category: | | Baking | | Servings: | | about 2 dozen cookies |
Description:Finally, my own cookies. This recipe is tweaked from Coffee & Bites' jumbo double chocolate cookies.
Ingredients:
225 g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups plain all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
175 g walnut, roughly chopped
butter for greasing
Directions:
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy in texture and light in colour, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda into a large bowl, then fold into the cookie mixture. Fold in the chopped walnuts. Ensure that all of the ingredients are mixed together. Chill for about 20 minutes.
Before baking, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with baking paper. Roll the cookie mixture into small balls to your preference and place well apart on the baking sheets. Press them gently with your fingers. Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are firm but centres are still just soft when gently pressed. Cool for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack.
 | Category: | | Breakfast & Brunch | | Servings: | | for four |
Description:Another great one from Marie Claire: Breakfast. It's really delicious and I kid you not. The sourish dried tomatoes is tempered by the creamy yet light ricotta, its texture resembling the delicate silken Japanese tofu. Pungent flat parsley and fresh lemon are middle notes, sharp raw garlic the base.
I served this with crusty ciabatta and some greens. A glass of perfectly chilled Sauvignon Blanc would be very welcomed.
Ingredients:
1 lb ricotta cheese
crusty bread, to serve
Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil (or use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes' jar).
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 tbsp chopped italian parsley
Directions:
Lightly grease and line four 1/2 cup ramekins with plastic wrap. Divide the ricotta between molds and press firmly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. I use ricotta-in-cups so I skip this step.
Preheat the oven to 210 degrees celsius. Un-mold the ricotta onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. It's better to make it early so that the flavours are allowed to meld.
Place each baked ricotta onto a plate and pour a little of the dressing over each one. Serve immediately.
 Description:I was trying to get rid of a pot of maple syrup given to me as a gift. Browsing Coffee & Bites, I spot a recipe for maple butter.
Freshly made, it's really light, fluffy and creamy. Cold, it's delicately crumbly. For breakfast, I've been spreading it on top of warm, slightly-salty baguettes which go along quite well with the butter's woody flavour.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) dark maple syrup
200 g unsalted butter
Directions:
Bring the dark maple syrup to boil in a saucepan. Boil until syrup reaches 120 degrees Celsius (I used meat thermometer). Transfer to a bowl and stir in the butter until melted. Whisk with an electric hand-whisk for 5-8 minutes until thick and creamy (Be patient: the mixture sloshes about for a while before it firms up to a creamy consistency). Store in the refrigerator. Makes 400 g.
 | Category: | | Baking | | Servings: | | 12 muffins |
Description:This is my latest craze from from Marie Claire: Breakfast. I love it so much I've baked it twice within two week's time and brought the latest batch to office to share as my Chinese New Year's goodies.
It's very easy to make, using a large bowl, a spatula and a spoon, with great result. The coffee flavour and fragrance are pronounced with nice fruity tangs from the dark chocolate. The 'cappuccino' top provides a savoury-sweetness to the muffin and spongy texture to the muffin-top. It's definitely not your usual flour-laden, bulky muffin.
The original recipe calls for white-chocolate which I detest. So I take the liberty to replace it with Lindt's Excellence 70% cacao. I also eliminate the vanilla extract as I do not want any distraction from the chocolate and coffee fragrance.
Naturally, this particular muffin is excellent to be had with a cup (or two) of espresso.
PS: As a background, I put Banana and Chocolate muffin, a liberal adaptation from the book's blueberry muffins.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup espresso-grind coffee
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or add 3 3/4 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt to equal amount of all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
150 g melted butter
3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate
30 g un-melted butter
3 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp boiling water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 204 degrees Celsius. Line the muffin cups or tray with paper muffin liner.
Dissolve the coffee in 1 tbsp of boiling water and allow to cool. Sift the flour and superfine sugar into a bowl. Combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, dark chocolate, and the coffee mixture, and roughly mix with the dry ingredients. Spoon the mixture into each muffin cup. Heat the un-melted butter and brown sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Spoon the mixture onto each muffin, gently swirl into the muffin using a skewer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until risen and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
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