Lunch wraps

Orange and oyster sauce pork ribs

So simple. So yum. 

Marinade ribs overnight:

Salt

Corn flour

Pepper

Balsamic vinegar

Apple mango juice ( so the plan was to use orange juice. But had this one open already, meh)

In a wok ...

Sear meat on high heat with a bit of oil

When 80% cooked, add tofu skin and carrots. 

Add juice to cover 90% of ingredients. Turn heat to med / med low to get a constant simmer. Put on lid and wait.

When 50% liquid is gone, add in oyster sauce and mix. Put lid on to cook more. 

When sauce is reduced and thickened to liking, taste and season with more oyster sauce/ salt / honey/ sugar. Check tofu skin and carrot is soft enough to liking.

Dish up and Serve hot with a balance of whole grain carbs and green leafy veg 

Profiteroles - choux using olive oil

Ratio by volume

1 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1 cup plain flour

3 eggs

Oops forgot salt and sugar.

Cremè patisserie 

1 egg

2 egg yolk

1 cup lite Soy milk

1 tsp corn flour + water paste

Dinner: spaghetti, bok choi left overs with "orange & oyster" (sauce) pork rib casserole

Lor Mai Chi with Nutella filling and peanut almond filling

So the picture doesn't show the fillings. 

But for the record:

Fillings: 

1/2 tsp choc hazelnut spread, nutino ( Nutella substitute )- worked well because it was oozy and liquidy when hot and just cooked

Received comment they look like the white ferrero rocher... With the choc hazelnut filling, I guess I can call these ferrero inspired lor Mai chi. Or east-meets-choc-hazelnut-west lor Mai chi.

1 tsp peanut butter mixture made with almond meal, crushed peanuts, salt, sugar (peanut butter was the no added salt and no added sugar type) - didn't work so great because filling was solid. The taste was fine but need to brainstorm how to make it a luscious, liquidy, peanutty ooze. Maybe need to combine with sugar syrup or pouring custard.

Dinner: Rice with chicken and coconut curry and bok choi

100% Wholemeal Man tou Chinese steamed buns

I'm set for a quick hot breakfast for the next fortnight. 

Admittedly, 100% doesn't work great. Too much fibre. Quite a 'rough' texture.  Appearance too brown, although maybe this might've been different if I had used all milk instead of water. Need to find an acceptable ratio of white to whole meal flour next time. I think maybe I should start with 50/50 and work my way up. 

Purple swirl supposed to represent yam but is actually just food dye. Now I know recipe works, can use yam powder knowing it won't go to waste. 

Dinner: Pumpkin & red lentil soup with toast

Simple

Yum

Reheated

This batch has lasted me 9 serves. Still not sick of it yet because its so yum. 

1/2 butternut pumpkin, 1/2 onion, 1/2 red lentils. Water soymilk cheese to thicken. Salt pepper. Could not be easier.

Pouring custard - light and simple

Ingredients

300 - 350 ml / 1 mug milk (cows light/soy)
1 egg
2 tsp sugar or more according to taste
1 tsp cornflour

Method

1. In a clean, room temp saucepan, pour milk in. Using the smallest gas top, use high heat to slowly warm milk. On a medium gas top, use medium - low heat. Aim is to slowly warm milk, rather than to scald milk quickly. Give milk a quick whisk very so often to make sure milks not burning.

2. Mean while, crack egg into bowl, add sugar and whisk as much as possible. Until frothy would be ideal.

3. When milk is starting to froth up/ small light bubbles on whisking, pour 2tb - 1/4 cup into egg mixture to temper the egg. Return pan to flame whilst quickly whisking egg mixture.

4. Pour the tempered egg mixture in with the rest of the milk in the pan. Keep on low/med heat. Aim is to heat slowly. Continuously whisk to ensure smoothness of sauce. Custard will thicken slightly. If happy with thickness turn off heat and pour out into a bowl immediately to stop it from getting thicker.

5. If need a thicker custard, take 1 tsp cornflour and mix with 1 tb water. Mix to to dissolve corn flour into a solution. Add to custard whilst still on gas flame, whisking the sauce whilst adding in. Corn flour will thicken sauces only in presence of heat. Do not add corn flour directly to hot liquid/sauce. Repeat with more cornflour if want it thicker. When ready, turn off heat and pour out into a bowl immediately to stop it from getting thicker.

Traffic light cookies

Traffic Light Cookies (White choc dipped coconut cookies)

Did these for the lovely students "LV" who've both just finished up for their final year placement at my work for uni.

Basically they're white choc dipped cookies (coconut cookies), where the white choc has been dyed the colours of a traffic light

They did this fantastic project for our organisation - all the groundwork for a nutrition policy. The policy is based on the traffic light system, ranking how frequently foods should be chosen for catered events at our organisation (with reference to health /nutrition)... Hence these traffic light cookies to wish them well on their way as new graduates.

Now, one of them really loves white choc. The other doesn't really like sweet things (and also can't tell the difference between a zucchini and cucumber... But thats beside the point. I do hope she does now after her placement though.)

So, I tried to compromise and only dip half the cookie in the sweet, white choc instead of dipping the whole cookie in chocolate... Although, at the end of the day, the cookie is still sweet. Life isn't perfect I guess. Maybe I should've brainstormed something hat involved white choc and zucchini or cucumber. Choc-dipped cucumber stick, anyone?


So, in the picture, top left corner was the trial run. Lucky I did it, it was too pale and choc didn't quite set until in fridge. Had a bit of difficulty getting them to be half dipped in a straight line, didn't foresee that the bulge on the cookie top would be such a problem. Definitely need a container/ bowl that's also quite deep but narrow so to not make excess melted choc (of any particular colour) that would be left over after the whole process too.

What I did

~40 Nestlé white choc melts.
1 tb extra virgin olive oil
Microwave on high for 1 min. Stir. Microwave again for 40 sec. Stir until all choc drops completely melted.
Poor ~ 50 ml to 3 different containers. Used a few small/nut boxes/ Decor Tupperware containers this time.
+ 2 drops colouring, of each colour
Dip cookies in the chocolate, let the choc drip off excess choc 
Lay on baking sheet that sitting on a baking tray (that was actually upside down).
Put whole tray into fridge for chocolate to set .
Distribute to zip lock bags and give away!!

So, the recipe on the pack does say use butter, but I don't keep butter in my pantry. Olive oil, which I use regularly was gonna be the only fat/oil option.

There is a slight lingering of the olive oil taste which makes the cookie a bit strange as an overall food. Shame. I guess it'll be no short cuts and will be using butter next time.

Traffic light cookies, packed, in the fridge and ready to give away

Green bean pancakes

Basically instead of red bean pancakes , I used green beans ... Because I didn't have red beans at home !!!

So adapted from christines recipes again. And it was a real success. I just didn't do the deep fry bit at the end because I don't like deep frying.

Ingredients

Green bean paste

130 grams green bean paste made from
Dry/ raw Green beans 1 unit
Water 3 units + more for soaking

Pancake

1 cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
2 tablespoons glutinous rice flour
1 cup water
2 eggs
1tsp sugar optional
1/2 tsp salt optional

Caramel sauce
Oil spray
Oil for frying (liquid)
Sugar

apparently the glutinous rice flour makes it easier to roll. Not sure if true but I'll believe it.

Method:

1. a. Prepare green beans: Use a unit measure to determine amount of water to cook in later. Soak in a good amount of water for at least 4 hrs ie cover the beans at least I did it in the morning before going to work and 8 hrs later when i came home, it was ready. I guess it could be overnight. But then... It'll be soaking for 12 hrs.. Might make then super soft after cooking .

Rinse with tap water to get rid of any husks fallen off, grit and other dirt before cooking.

b. Cook green beans: ratio is 1:3 by volume raw green bean to water for cooking. I cooked in a rice cooker. I imagine you could do this in a pot like boiling rice the evaporative method until beans are soft and all water is evaporated.

When the rice cooker stopped cooking as per it's usual automatic turn off, i added some sugar to taste and roughly mashed up the beans into a lumpy paste with a wooden fork and spoon.. Wood so it didn't hurt the non stick coating of my rice cooker.

Set aside.

I actually thought the paste was a bit too thick and lumpy for my liking .even though the beans were just right and soft - mushy. Might add some milk or water to make it more paste ish, but might make it harder to wrap later ...


2. Make the pancakes: Whisk eggs with water first. Then add sifted plain flour and glutinous rice flour and whisk. Sprinkle optional salt and sugar. Mix well. Add more water if batter is not thin enough. Should be thin to nectar thick

3. Heat a nonstick frying pan over low heat. Use spray oil when pan is warm. If pan is too hot , you won't have enough time to swirl the batter so the batter covers the whole base of pan and make a nice thin, round pancake. .. Because the pancake would've cooked already.

Add a soup ladle of mixture near the edge/ the side of the pan and immediately swirl frying pan with a circle motion to spread the batter evenly on the pan.

Fry the batter on other side until done, but don’t fry until brown.

Remove from heat and place on a big flat plate or cooling rack.

Put red bean paste in the middle of the pancake and fold sides to form a rectangular roll .


4. Heat 1 tb olive oil, sprinkle with sugar to make a caramel sauce on high heat. Put red bean pancake rolls in caramel to soak up the sauce. Flip to cover the whole roll.

Dish up , slice into 1.5 cam widths and eat.


Next time I think I might just plain pan fry until brown then roll in a plate of white sugar... Or just eat as is without the 2nd pan fry

Hot Cross Buns (Tangzhong) SUCCESS

So after failing twice using Christine's recipes (sightly modified at times) for hot cross buns, I decided to go and create my own recipe like I usually do - of course, using what I've learnt in food chemistry and food science.

If only someone could research and publish in a proper scientific journal on the 65°C / Tangzhong / Water Roux. Anyhoo, putting away my scientific side...

So, started googling, found a few interesting articles about Tangzhong, which is apparently also called 'Water Roux'. Also some confusion about the origins of this method - supposed to have originated from Yvonne Chen, who some believe are Chinese, whilst others believe is Japanese. I wonder Yvonne would say. Or is this another great example of how people just can't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese? *Sigh*. 'Chen' to me sounds like a pretty typical Chinese name, not sure how the Hiragana (Japanese) would work for 'Chen', there is just no sound for 'che'...unless its 'chi' + little 'e', I guess.

Hot Cross Buns (Tangzhong) EPIC FAIL

First Try hot cross buns - EPIC FAILURE

This recipe - taken pretty much directly from 'Christine's Recipes' blog was an EPIC FAIL... I was so disappointed. Christine's recipes has never failed me once before, and the fact that these hot cross buns turned out so bad meant that I was just had to try again and look at other peoples recipes.

The bun was pretty much the height of a scone. It was sort of bouncy (ie the gluten was developed), but it was also very cake like)

I didn't have to look very far to find reasons that contributed to the really really bad outcome.
1. The yeast was past use by date. Although theoretically, shouldn't really matter. As long as theres more time to the yeast to reproduce, whatever ones are alive should eventually make the same number up as was in the packet originally.
2. Using the Sunbeam mixmaster/bread tongs to rely on kneeding. This machine is BAD for making bread and kneeding. Much faster to just do it by hand as I found out 3 days later.

3. It completely escaped me (after not having baked bread for so long) that the mixture needed to be a smooth ball of dough, rather than just sticking to the recipe. Was having so much trouble  with getting the dough coming together and thinking 'why won't this dough come together like it did with the big Breville mixmaster'. Silly me, I really should've accounted for the humidity/temperature of the day etc. and ADDED IN MORE FLOUR until the dough could form a smooth ball. So I let it proove after passing the Window test, but it was still sticky and elastic and NOT a ball shape.

4. Tangzhong - I have a feeling I let it over cook. haha. Somehow I did it on High heat, rather than low heat, and it came around to a massive claggy mess so suddenly, but i couldn't be stuffed to make another batch.

So, maybe Christine's recipe is alright, but my experience of it not so great.

So I decided to look around what other people have done, and eventually create my own recipe. This will be the 'Hot Cross Buns (Tangzhong) SUCCESS' post.

Second try hot cross buns: Better but tasted like sweet wholemeal bread

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

350 gm bread flour (150 bread flour, and 200 Woolworths plain flour)

35 gm sugar

5 gm salt

Wet ingredients:

56 gm whisked egg, plus extra for egg wash

7 gm milk powder, optional

125 ml milk

120 gm Tangzhong (use half of the amount for the recipe)

Raising agent:

5 to 6 gm dried instant yeast

Additions/Flavourings:

30 gm butter, softened at room temperature

100 gm raisins

1/2 tsp mixed spice OR cinnamon, or to taste

Flour paste:

4 Tbsp plain flour

2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp water

Ingredients for Tangzhong (湯種):

50gm / 1/3 cup bread flour

250ml / 1 cup water (could be replaced by milk, or 50/50 water and milk)

Enough to make 2 loaves

Method

Make the Tangzhong

1.    Mix flour in water well without any lumps in a small pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.

2.    The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon, remove from heat. It’s done. The lines are caused by the increase in viscosity (thickness) of the mixture, not just because you've run your spoons through it. The mixture is watery, but a thick type of watery, i.e. it is easily pourable. It is not really a ‘paste’, so shouldn’t look like Clag glue from primary school! You may like to use a thermometer to check the temperature is 65°C.

3.    Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let it cool to room temperature and use it in the bread recipe at room temperature.

Note: The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature, just measure out the amount you need. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, discard and cook again. The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients.

Make the dough

1.    Combine all dry ingredients: (salt, sugar, milk powder, mixed spice, bread flour, yeast) in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.

2.    Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tangzhong. Then add the mixture into the well of the dry ingredients.

3.    Knead until you get a dough shape and gluten has developed, then knead in the butter. Knead until the dough becomes smooth, not sticky and elastic

4.    Test if the dough is ready - Stretch the dough. If it forms a thin “membrane”, it’s done. The time of kneading all depends on how hard and fast you knead.

5.    Knead the dough into a ball shape. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel or cling wrap. 

FIRST PROOF - Let it proof till it's doubled in size, about 40 minutes (Note: the time will vary and depends on the weather. The best temperature for proofing is 28°C.

Make the Bun shape & flavour

6.    Line a baking tray with baking paper. Transfer the dough onto a clean floured surface.

7.    Add sultanas or other additions to the dough. Deflate and divide into 12 equal portions on the baking tray. Knead each into a ball shape and place on the baking paper, at least 1cm apart.

8.    SECOND PROOF - Cover with a cling wrap, let rest in a warm place for about 30 - 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.

9.    Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.

Prepare the flour paste:

10. Combine 4 tablespoons of plain flour with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to a smooth paste, then gradually add a little bit of water at a time if it’s too thick. Spoon into a piping bag and cut away the tip, or fitted with a fine nozzle.

11. Brush whisked egg on the surface of buns.

12. Pipe flour paste over tops to form crosses.

Bake:

13. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden.  At 190°C.

14. Brush with medium sugar syrup (optional)

Dinner: Fried rice wrapped in egg drizzled with sweet chilli sauce

Was fun to make ...

Left over egg.. Needed to water it down to get the casing really thin so that it would actually wrap around the fried rice ... Need I make sure the egg is cooked in a pan with a large enough diameter compared with the bowl/ mold!!

Dinner: Rice with tuna omelette and stirfry veges

Proportions for a "healthy meal" plate not quite right.. But a good enough dinner.

Strawberries dipped in chocolate

Serves only 1!!!!

Frozen strawberries defrosted for ~10 mins in fridge before serving


~80 g sweet choc in a small bowl

Melt in microwave 30 sec at a time on high. Stir between each stop

When choc is melted but still fairly thick , add

1tsp low fat natural yoghurt and stir

Somehow the sourness of the yoghurt brings out the cocoa flavour of the choc. Plus it keeps the choc quite fluid but thick so it's easy to dip the strawberries into !!

Loh Mai Chi (糯米糍)

Ingredients

The dough
2 pkts glutinous rice flour
- split 2/3 of 1 packet and mix with 1 cup/250ml hot water and 1/2 cup white sugar
- remaining 1 1/3 packet mix with cold/ room temp water

1/2 cup oil

? Wheat starch - have read it stops the dough from going hard / dehydrated the next day . Haven't tried it yet.


Filling ideas
Peanut butter and crushed peanuts
Black sesame paste with black sesame
Chestnut paste with roasted peanuts
Lotus seed paste with peanuts


The dusting
None - serve in sugar and ginger soup
Desiccated coconut
500g Fried rice flour (microwave 3 times on high for 1 min)

Method

In a bowl, pour in approx 2/3 of 1 packet glutinous rice flour. Add 1/2 cup white sugar. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add 1 cup/250ml hot water.
Stir to combine until a sticky paste forms. It doesn't have to be perfectly combined.

Add the rest of the glutinous rice flour in 3-4 batches, adding a bit of cold water at a time And combine to form a dough.

Add the oil when a dough is almost formed.
Kneed the dough at the end to work it a bit. Form a roundish ball and cover with plastic or a damp cloth to prevent from drying out.

Add more flour/ cold water until the consistency is right. The dough should be smooth, not sticky to the hands, very pliable. If done quickly enough it may still be warm.


To make the balls, divide the dough into ~20g lots. Eg roll out a sausage o dough and cut at even intervals.

Roll each portion into a ball, flatten and add filling. Seal the filling inside to form a round ball. Set aside on plastic. Make sure the balls don't touch before they go In the freezer.

Freeze until ready to use. Or, if using fresh, boil water and pop them in the pot until they float to the top.

Roll/ coat with dusting of choice. Or serve with sweet ginger soup.

Chinese new year eve dinner

Pasta and veggies

Chicken Pasta made with tinned tomato and egg
Veggies boiled up from frozen except carrot

Simple
Cheap
Nutritious

And Delish!!

Custard tarts ( some coconut & custard )