It's hanami (flowers viewing) season again! One of Japan's traditional customs that draws thousands and thousands of people, locals and foreigners alike, to parks with flowering sakura (cherry blossom) trees across Japan.
Sakura holds an important place in the hearts of Japanese and many resonate with it being their national flower. It symbolises the arrival of spring, the start of a new year and also an opportunity to bond with friends, family and co-workers, over a picnic underneath the breath-taking canopy of sakura flowers.
I have yet to visit Japan during this tourists-magnet season because expenses are usually higher and everywhere will be a lot more crowded. But I do hope to partake in hanami and yozakura (hanami at night) at least once in my lifetime to experience these magical moments and appreciate the transcendent yet short-lived beauty of sakura for myself.
Meanwhile, with a small jar of pickled sakura flowers from my Japan trip earlier this year, and half a pack of leftover water chestnut flour, I thought I'll make a snack befitting hanami and probably something a Japanese will be proud to bring along to their potluck picnic.
Sakura Water Chestnut Cake (makes 6" square x 6cm tall)
125g Water Chestnut Flour
200g White Sugar
750g Water, tap
50g Water Chestnut, peeled, finely diced
10g Pickled Sakura Flowers
Optional
a few drops of red food colouring
1. Lightly grease the pan with a little oil and set aside.
2. Stir the water chestnut flour into 300g of the water till dissolved and set aside. Soak the pickled sakura flowers in water for about 30mins, changing the water once or twice as needed till they are no longer overpoweringly salty.
** Optional: reserve a few whole sakura flowers for decoration
3. In a small saucepan, dissolve the white sugar and red food colouring (if using) in the remaining 350g of water and bring to a boil.
4. Add in the finely diced water chestnut and pickled sakura flowers. Let simmer for a few seconds then turn the heat to low.
5. Give the water chestnut flour mixture a stir then add it into the saucepan. Stir constantly to prevent the batter from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook and stir till mixture has thickened and is lump-free.
6. Transfer mixture to the greased pan and smooth the top with a slightly wet spatula. ** If using the whole sakura flowers as decoration, gently push them into the mixture as desired.
7. Steam mixture for about 20-25mins till the cake turns translucent or a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely before slicing it anyway you like. Cut with a slightly wet knife, wiping in between every cut. Serve at room temperature, or chill in fridge before serving. Keep leftovers in the fridge, covered, for up to a week.
If you like this recipe and would like to share it, please link to this blog post with its original contents. All recipes are created by me (unless otherwise stated) and require a lot of effort and time to craft. Crediting back is the biggest form of encouragement for me! Thank you! =)
Thoughts: If you already love water chestnut cake and sakura mochi before, you will definitely fall in love with this sakura water chestnut cake. The pickled sakura flowers not only perfume the cake with its delicate fragrance, the slight saltiness provides a nice contrast to the sweetness, and together with the subtle sourness from the umezu used to pickle the flowers, the resulting cake has quite the complex taste profile. Certainly makes the already refreshing water chestnut cake even more so refreshing!
You may already know that most of my desserts are not as sweet as the general dessert recipes. While I feel that the stated amount of sugar used provides just enough sweetness and keeps the flavours in balance, you are welcome to add more sugar to suit your preference. If you like, you can also use slab sugar (片糖) in place of white sugar. Slab sugar are usually used in making the traditional water chestnut cake, just note that it will give the cake a yellowish appearance.
Texture of the cake remains the same as the traditional water chestnut cake, firmer than the jello-jelly but not quite as firm as the Japanese yokan (羊羹). I love having the cake at room temperature, although I think it tastes equally, or according to hubs, "even more awesome"😆
after keeping it chilled in the fridge. However, I did not have the opportunity to pan-fry some, like how we would do to the traditional water chestnut cake during Chinese New Year celebrations.
If you try this recipe and tried the pan-fried sakura water chestnut cake, let me know how it tastes like and share your yummy creations with us on facebook or tag @whattobaketoday on instagram!
All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
I've just gotten addicted with "one pan", "one pot", "one skillet" or whatever cooking vessel, recipes again recently. Let me explain. I do make "one pan meals" from time to time after sharing the post on "One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetable". But ever since we picked up jogging this year, I became feverently obsessed with them.
See, I haven't been very physically active since mid teen years. A jog is not only taxing on this set of old bones but also sucks my soul and leaves my brain drained. 😆 Hence the need for a quick, easy and fuss-free meal grows stronger than ever!
This particular recipe came by because every single time I'm brain dead and don't know what to cook for dinner, hubs will ask me to cook Bolognese Pasta. No exception today when I asked him the age-old question after our jog. And since I never like doing dishes, I tried to cook everything in just one frying pan.
One Pan Bolognese Pasta Bake (serves 2-3)
15g Onion, minced
5g Garlic, minced
1 tsp Dried Oregano/ Thyme/ Basil
200g Beef Mince
1 Portobello Mushroom, cubed
150g Dry Pasta, uncooked
250g Marinara sauce, homemade or store bought
200-300g Water
Salt and Pepper
Cheese
Optional
small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
Preheat oven to 200°C
1. In a frying pan/skillet, sauté onion and garlic till fragrant and onion turns slightly translucent.
2. Add the beef mince, dried herbs and fry till meat is no longer pink, then add in the portobello mushroom cubes and cook till slightly softened.
3. Add in the dry pasta, marinara or passata and 200g of water to the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring and turning frequently for about 10mins
4. Add more water if needed, till pasta is just cooked and most of the water has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat. Top the pasta with cheese and bake in oven for 15-20mins till cheese has melted and is golden brown. Cool slightly, garnish with fresh parsley (if using) and serve.
If you like this recipe and would like to share it, please link to this blog post with its original contents. All recipes are created by me (unless otherwise stated) and require a lot of effort and time to craft. Crediting back is the biggest form of encouragement for me! Thank you! =)
Thoughts: Pasta with bolognese sauce is a simple and homely dish. It was one of the first "angmoh" (western) dishes I learned. Cook the sauce in a pan, boil the pasta in a pot, mix both together and serve. It was very easy for a young kid although I did use store bought, ready-to-use pasta sauce. It's even better now that everything can be cooked in the same pan! Woohoo!
For the dried herbs, you can either choose one or any combination of them, or you can just use pre-mix Italian herbs, that'll work too. For a stronger tomato taste, switch marinara sauce for tomato passata. Just note that passata is more concentrated than marinara, so start with a lesser amount than what the recipe called for.
The meal was ready in under an hour, including the preparation time. Added bonus for less things to wash. If you serve directly in the pan, there's only the knife, chopping board, utensils and frying pan. Since it's just hubs and me, that was exactly what we did. Yes, I am that lazy... Haha! If you need a quicker meal, you can skip baking in the oven and stir in the cheese directly. Or just skip the cheese altogether, then the meal will be ready in 30mins and less. But of course, you'll be missing the delicious baked cheese top.
If you've tried this dish or other recipes, do share your yummy creations with us on facebook or tag @whattobaketoday on instagram!
All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
