What To Bake Today: August 2012

Soya Bean Curd - Lao Ban Style (豆花 aka Tau Hway)

30th Aug 2012! It's "Make and Eat Tau Hway" day, an initiative brought forward by fellow food blogger, Alan Goh, which was a result of the Diner en Blanc controversy in Singapore. Actually I'll write about Tau Hway sooner or later too, just that this incident kinda hasten the process. Anyway, just to help spread the word, here's Dr. Leslie Tay's explanation on what had possibly happened. Although to me, I don't really care why or how it happened, there's nothing to be done. Let's just be gracious and move on! =)

In short, Tau Hway belongs to the wonderful world of weird, wobbly food (such as Jello & Konnyaku). It is basically semi-solidified Soya Bean Milk (aka Soy Milk in some countries). Like celebrity blogger Moonberry mentioned, Tau Hway is the Asian equivalent of Panna Cotta. I kinda agree with her although I'll say Tau Hway is the sibling that Panna Cotta never had. They are similar but definitely different.

Aside from the obvious differences that Tau Hway is made from Soya Bean Milk and Panna Cotta is from Heavy Cream, they have different solidifying agents as well. Traditional Tau Hway uses Gypsum as the coagulating agent while Panna Cotta uses Gelatin. Most importantly, Tau Hway is a relatively healthy dessert (never thought I'll put the word "healthy" and "dessert" together LOL) as long as not too much sugar (syrup) is added. Since it is made from Soya Bean Milk, it contains a whole load of protein yet has little calories and fat. Additionally, if it is made with Gypsum, it will contribute greatly to your daily calcium intake. On the other hand, Panna Cotta, is usually made from Heavy Cream, which are required to contain no less than 35% fat in order to be labelled as one. In another words, it's not so good for the waist and the heart. There are some recipes which suggest a lighter version substituting a portion (or even entirely) with Half & Half, but I say why comprise the taste and still take in so much fat into your system? Go lean (Tau Hway) or go mean (Panna Cotta). Hahaha..

Queuing for Lao Ban Dou Hua (老伴豆花) is a craze trend which started in recent years. It was last year when I first heard about it and was totally bummed out by the super loooong queue. My virgin queue was 45mins! My curiosity got the best of me or else I wouldn't have bothered. In my most honest opinion, they are softer and silkier than the traditional Tau Hway but they lack the flavours of freshly brewed Soya Bean Milk, the first thing that hit me was the strong Vitasoy (维他奶) taste. Truth to be told, it resembles more of a pudding rather than a "Tau Hway". However, I still enjoy it very much because it doesn't leave my mouth "dry" like some Tau Hway does. And most friends/families enjoy this more, so what the heck. =D

Soya Bean Curd - Lao Ban Style (makes 6 Lao Ban's containers)

(This is a modified recipe, view original recipe from chanzhf)

80g Instant Soya Milk Powder

30g Sugar *adjust accordingly, this is less sweet*

30g Creamer

1400ml Soya Milk

28g Instant Jelly Powder

Optional

8g Vanilla Powder

AND / OR

60g Oreo Cookies, crushed (without the cream) for an alternative "Cookies & Cream"

1. Combine all ingredients, except Instant Jelly Powder, into a large pot and heat over LOW flame. Whisk to combine, take care not to boil the mixture.

2. Keep the mixture simmering. Stir in the instant jelly powder and heat off.

3. Sieve the mixture (at least 2 times) to ensure a smooth and lump-free mixture.

4. Slowly pour the mixture into containers to avoid trapping bubbles. Remove any bubbles at the sides.

5. Let cool to about room temperature & refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Served chilled.

Now back to the issue that sparked these impromptu events. I believe with good presentation/plating and a little creativity, any food can look good enough (and delicious) for anyone to enjoy. How do you think Heston Blumenthal manages to get celebrities to eat Pigs' Tongues, Cows' Brains and Bull's Testicles? I tried to do some different plating with the Oreo Tau Hway, my "Cookies 'n Cream". They're not super nice but you get the idea. *sighs* After this matter settles down, I hope more people can see that no regardless "white" or "black", even "grey", they are food closest to someone's heart. Food is a representation of culture, we have to learn to embrace all food. And food is just an aspect of life, eventually we need to learn how to embrace each other.

Happy "Make & Eat Tau Hway" Day~!

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Dîner en Blanc Singapore - The "White Supremacy"

With much coverage on the whole Dîner en Blanc saga, it'll be pointless for me to explain what had happened.

Like all other things in the world, there is no absolute right or wrong, just different degree of being wrong (or right for that matter). Someone is always more wrong than the other(s). I thought fellow food blogger, Daniel Ang's (Daniel's Food Diary) suggestions of white-coloured, local cuisine is ingenious and will infused some local elements into the event which will otherwise be predominately occupied/represented by "white ideas" (angmoh ideas).

However, frankly speaking, I don't know if I would want to bring a packet of Chicken Rice to the event if this huge hooha didn't happened. You get what I mean? I'm not suggesting that our local cuisine is not "atas" (high class) enough but seriously, would you really bring Chicken Rice to the event? Retrospective will not work here, you can't "un-know" something you've already know. No point looking back and say "I will" because somewhere inside the deepest darkest corner of your heart, you jolly well know you won't. Don't hate me, I'm just being truthful. =P Dr. Leslie Tay (ieatishootipost) wrote a better explanation and gave an analogy for this.

From how I see it, the local organiser seems to have "wrong" the most, that is assuming that they operate somewhat independently from the French organiser, hence don't have to report every single little thing back to the HQ. However, I don't exactly buy the long, grandmother story, explanation.
[... requires that you enjoy a carefully prepared meal of your choice while encouraging you to shy away from commercially prepared ‘junk' or ‘fast' food. Anything else that is tasty, original or traditional is welcome.]

Photo courtesy of bestie

The food, in question here, is our local cuisine. Stating that the organisation does not equate local food with junk food earlier in the passage and later on refer it to "commercially prepared junk". I don't know what to think of it. If they had not categorized local cuisine as 'junk' or 'fast' food, why was the idea discouraged? Why is it "not on par" with the organizer's image? Plating/Presentation does wonders, just as cosmetics does to the ladies. Place a piece of foie gras in our styrofoam takeaway box, see if it'll still appear atas. I served Chilled Tau Hway with Sesame paste on my wedding and it look darn atas, taste atas too.
We do cook our own Chicken Rice at home. My mum does, and I grew up on it. And heck, it's tasty. If they had really meant for it to be the way they espoused, shouldn't they ask Daniel to edit his post, saying that the local cuisine should be "tasty, original or traditional" instead of asking him to remove the post?

What really bothers me about the whole situation is that the explanation given is illogical and does not add up, neither did it justify their prior actions. It appears to me as an desperate attempt to cover their tushes.

If the local organiser is merely a puppet in the whole event, the real mastermind (and culprit) would be the French organisers. That is, of course, the assumption on the other end of the spectrum just to balance the equation. But in actual fact, does it matter? Local or French, they represent the same organisation. Period. When you err, admit it gracefully, pound on your chest, swear upon your good name not to repeat the mistake(s) and move on. The only thing the organisers openly admitted to have done wrong is asking Daniel to remove his post. Well and that the local organisers failed to exemplify the French organiser's value of respect and elegance. Giving a half-assed explanation and over justifying things does not go in line with how a respectful and elegant organisation should work. =)

We have a very strong and aggressive blogsphere in Singapore. A blogger has his/her pen (or keyboard XP) as weapon. A food blogger has his/her fork (sometimes knife, spoon and of course, chopsticks to poke eyes with =D) on top of the pen. This is something the organisers did not understand and misjudged the Singapore's media landscape. With that, another fellow food blogger, Alan Goh (travellingfoodies), has initiated "Make and Eat Tau Hway Day" on 30th Aug 2012, the same day Dîner en Blanc is to be held. He wishes for it to be a reminder to everyone, the importance of paying mutual respect and staying grounded. I will be participating and sharing his initiatives. Anyone can join us! If you maintain a blog, you're welcome to blog about Tau Hway. If not, you can share a photo of you or your friends eating tau hway, or even just tau hway itself on Facebook. As Alan mentioned, it is a spinoff of the "Cook Curry Day" which occurred last year, I hope this event will be as huge as its predecessor.

While enjoying the diverse cuisines readily available across the island, at the end of the day, it might be the "char-kway-teow downstairs your house" that evokes childhood memories, the "90 cents kopi" that really hits the spot or only the bowl of piping hot "ba-kut-teh", which Mum made with lots of love, can warm your heart (and tummy =P).

DISCLAIMER: The blog and me are not affiliated to any constituencies of any sort. This post is set up to share thoughts/conclusions/reviews on various topics, such as food, products and restaurants. I have, by no means, any intention of flaming, defaming, accusing and insulting any individual/establishment. No benefits in any form, monetary or otherwise, was exchanged for the post. The writing is not influenced by any parties, and is based solely on my personal thoughts, preference, observations and biasity, if you will. Take it with a pinch of salt.

Miso Soup

Although I bake a lot of sweet goods but if you've noticed, I almost always reduce the sugar needed. Firstly, overly sweet stuffs can sometimes mask the taste of whatever flavour you want to bring forth (although in some recipes, sugar is exactly the ingredient needed to bring out the flavour). Secondly, I just don't prefer sweets on a personal level. At the very core, I am a savoury person or a sweet & savoury person the least. Thirdly, it is slightly kinder to the waist and more suitable for our seniors to enjoy. That's why if you had follow any of the recipes here, you might feel that the bakes are sometimes not as sweet. You still have to take note when reducing the sugar in recipes though, because sometimes, sugar will affect the outcome of your bakes.

There are times where I've had too much sweet food till my body (and mind) starts to crave for salt. Of course, I wouldn't be shoving tablespoonfuls of table salt into my system. Heehee.. But rather, I'll start craving for bacon, salted fish, ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin), the likes of it and mm mm yes..... Miso soup.

The base of miso soup is dashi stock. For the purists, sure you can make your own from scratch but sometimes, you just want to have a bowl of miso soup like now NOW. The instant packets ones just won't do, they are way too salty.

Miso Soup (makes roughly 12 Cups, serves 6 big bowls)

2 litres Dashi stock

2 litres Water + 20g Instant Hondashi (more or less according to taste)

150g Silken Tofu, 1cm cubes

3 tbsp Dehydrated Wakame, soak in water for 10mins

50g Miso paste, red or white (adjust to taste)

Optional

20g Spring onions (aka Scallions), chopped

300g Chicken Breast or Thigh, cut into rough 2" pieces

20g Dried Scallops, soak in water for 30mins

If using chicken breast/thigh, marinate in some light soya sauce, white pepper and sesame oil for at least 30mins.

1. Bring Dashi stock to boil. Add in the dried scallops and chicken breast/thigh (if using). Let boil for few minutes till meat is cooked. Turn the heat down and maintain the stock at a simmer.

2. Ladle some dashi stock into the Miso paste. Dissolve the paste and return the mixture into the simmering dashi stock. Taste and adjust flavours accordingly.

3. Add in the Silken Tofu cubes and rehydrated Wakame. Simmer for another minute and heat off. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve.

It's raining hippos and rhinos as I typed this post and nothing is better than a bowl of hot, salty miso soup!

Oatmeal Cranberries Cookies

Cookies are one of the simplest bakes. Yet like all simple things, it is one of the hardest to perfect. When I was a little girl, "Famous Amos" cookies were like the pinnacle of all cookies, luring me seductively with its aroma whenever I walked past their shops. As if drawn by Sirens, I used to wander off in its direction and pester my Mummy to buy me some of those delicious Chocolate Chips cookies. Now that I am old(er), with all the health considerations and desperately trying regain my womanly figure, I have to forcefully steer myself away from the cookies' alluring fragrance.

I chanced upon a copycat Famous Amos Chocolate Chip recipe the other day and decided to try it with something healthier. Anything with oatmeal inside has got to be healthier right? *self denial* Even though I was frantically studying for my Final Theory Driving test, all that occupied my mind was the cookies.

The first thing I did, after coming home from the FT test, was to ransack my kitchen for ingredients, and found some cranberries... So tada - Oatmeal Cranberries Cookies!

Oatmeal Cranberries Cookies (makes 32 - 20g cookies)

115g Butter, unsalted, softened
70g Brown Sugar
70g Castor Sugar
1 Egg
2g Vanilla Extract

Mixture A
250g All-Purpose Flour
2g Baking Soda
2.5g Ground Cinnamon
1g Ground Nutmeg
1g Ground Ginger

40g Oatmeal, instant
40g Dried Cranberries

Preheat oven to 170ºC
1. Sift together Mixture A and reserved.

2. Cream Butter and sugars till light and fluffy. Add the Egg and Vanilla Extract, mixing well after each addition.

3. Slowly add in Mixture A and mix till combined. Stir in the Oatmeal and Dried Cranberries till well mixed.

4. You may either:

Scoop teaspoonfuls of 20g dough and drop on prepared lined baking tray/sheet with about 1" spacing.
Roll out 20g of dough and flatten them slightly to make nice round shapes.

5. Bake 15-20mins. Leave on tray/sheet for a minute before cooling completely on a wired rack.

Just as any Famous Amos shop, the aroma of freshly baked cookies will fill the whole kitchen. In my honest opinion, the flavours are 80% similar to the real McCoy. On a personal level, the sweetness is just about right. If you would like them to be as sweet as Famous Amos's, increase 10g or even 20g for each of the Castor and Brown Sugar, i.e. 80g each. Try out the recipe, you will not be disappointed!

Hokkaido Cupcake

Now that I'm pleased with my Pandan Chiffon cake, I am finally confident enough to venture into Hokkaido Cupcake. Although method wise, it is the same as a Pandan chiffon but the Hokkaido Cupcake's texture has to be fluffy enough to allow for the Lightened Crème Pâtissière to be piped into directly. And that's why I wasn't confident enough to venture into Hokkaido Cupcake from the start.

The first recipe I followed, resulted in a denser texture which I wasn't exactly pleased with. I then did a quick Google search and found this recipe from nasilemaklover which I made slight adjustments from the mistakes of the first lesson. The texture is softer and fluffier than the first, not as eggy too. Although I think a little tweak to the recipe will result in an even lighter and airier interior but that's for another day's work.

Hokkaido Cupcake (makes about 10)
(modified from forbidden garden)
   3     Egg Yolks
20g   Sugar
40g   Oil
60g   Milk
   2g   Vanilla Extract
70g   Top Flour, sifted (can use Cake flour)

3 Egg White
30g Sugar
   1g Cream of Tartar

Preheat oven to 170ºC

1. With a whisk attachment, whisk together Egg Yolks and Sugar till ribbon stage (pale and thick). Add in the Oil, Milk and Vanilla extract, whisk to combine. Stir in the sifted Top Flour to combine and reserve batter.

2. With a clean bowl, whisk the Egg Whites and Cream of Tartar till foamy before adding the Sugar. Continue to whisk till soft peaks.

3. Stir in 1/3 of the meringue into the reserved batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining meringue while maintaining a light touch.
4. Scoop batter into paper liners arranged on a baking sheet, filling about 3/4 to the brim.

5. Bake for 15-18 mins until the top is browned. Remove cakes, let cool completely and reserve.

Crème Diplomat or Lightened Crème Pâtissière
200g Creme patissiere, chilled
80g Double Cream, chilled (aka Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream)

1. Whipped the chilled double cream in a cold bowl till stiff peaks and whipped the chilled crème pâtissière to loosen it up.

2. Fold the 2 together till a smooth luscious crème forms. Fill a piping bag and pipe directly into the cupcakes. Move outwards and release pressure from the piping bag. Remember to resist the temptation to overfill the cakes. Although the interior is super soft and can accommodate a lot of cream but it will burst eventually!

Optional
Dust with Snow Powder (or Icing sugar although it melts in our horrid weather) and decorate with desired adornments or fruits. Best served chilled!

I have a few friends/relatives who have initial difficulties "unwrapping" the cupcakes. Oh well, you can just dig in with a fork then. Enjoy!

Langue de Chat

Langue de Chat, literally translate to Cat's Tongue because of its shape, is a classic French biscuit that is light and buttery. A short write up on Wikipedia suggests that they are part of the petits fours sec which also includes macarons, baked meringues and puff pastries. It is common to see them being served with ice creams, desserts and coffee/tea nowadays.

I came about this biscuit earlier this year as I flipped through my (current) favorite recipe book Ladurée (luxurious little book with its velvety cover and gold lined pages =X) for simple recipes that will use up the extra egg whites from another bake. Since it was Chinese New Year, I naturally picked something that will be easy for guests to eat and easy for me to prepare! It was also the first time I had my hands on piping. Boy, it was difficult; my biscuits were crooked and inconsistent. Nonetheless, the flavour was still superb and they were polished off quickly!

It wasn't until recently when my bestie sent me a photo from Vietnam showing a box of langues de chat that I suddenly thought of making these wonderful little snacks again. I'm glad that my piping skills had since improved and my langues de chat look more decent now! =P

Langue de Chat (recipe from Ladurée, makes about 50)
125g     Butter, unsalted, soften
100g     Confectioner's Sugar (original 160g)
1 pkt    Vanilla Sugar or 2 tsp Sugar + 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
    2        Egg Whites
160g     Cake Flour, sifted

(I assumed original recipe is not prepared with a stand mixer)
Preheat oven to 160ºC
1. With the paddle attachment, cream Butter till creamy. Add the Confectioner's Sugar and continue till light and fluffy.

2. Add the Vanilla Sugar, beat till combined before adding the Egg Whites in 2 additions till fully incorporated.

3. Slowly stir in the Cake Flour with a wooden spoon till a smooth batter forms. The consistency is thick and rather stiff.

4. Fit a piping bag with a 5mm plain piping tip (or snip a 5mm opening off a piping bag) and fill it with the batter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe 6cm long strips. Leave about 1" gap between each as they spread slightly when baking.

5. Bake for 10-12 mins until the edges are golden brown. Leave to cool on baking sheet till room temperature before removing them. If not eating immediately (highly recommended though!!), store in an airtight container as they soften really fast!

Optional
6. Melt some chocolate of choice (dark/milk chocolate or white chocolate with desired food colouring) over double boiler. Dip half of the biscuit into it and allow the chocolate to set completely before storage. Personally, I like these biscuits just as they are but if you are serving them to guests, this is a great option to "beautify" them. =)

I haven't had the chance to taste an authentic French langue de chat (I'm not considering 白色恋人 - Shiroi Koibito as authentic) so I don't know how they are supposed to be like. However, I did realize that they only remain crisp and crunchy for a short period. Even when storing in an airtight container, the center gets soft and chewy quite fast. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be that way although the flavours are still amazing for something so simple!

How to remove Bell Peppers' skin

As Asians, I don't think we ever remove bell pepper's skin in any of our dishes (do we?). I first saw it when watching some show on Asian Food Channel and decided to try for myself. The method used may seem dubious to some, as it had with me initially, but it is safe and is practice by many restaurants world wide. Although you can grilled the peppers over charcoal flames, but unless you've already got a fire going on for a BBQ or something, I don't think I want to go through the trouble of building a fire for this sole purpose. Hahaha.. Other than that, it is fairly simple but slightly time consuming to remove their skin.

1. Place peppers directly over naked flame. The correct way to do this is to hold the peppers over the flame, just so it is hovering above the burners. I'm lazy and usually just place them on the burners (don't learn from me >.< Hahaha). You may either poke a fork through the stem and use a thong to hold the peppers.There will be some crackling, bubbling and sizzling as the skin burns (literally!!), don't be alarmed. Rotate as the area blackened and charred the whole pepper accordingly.

2. After the whole pepper is charred, you may either:

place the pepper in a plastic bag, steam from the pepper will loosen its skin, making it easier to peel after it becomes cool enough to handle. Rub the skin off and rinse with water.
place the pepper in a pot of ice cold water and rub off the blackened skin

3. Further process the skinned peppers as desired.

Personally, I find that these smooth, skinless peppers do somehow enhance the flavours of whatever dish I'm preparing. It could be the lack of its leathery skin or the subtle roasted flavour that came with the charring, whichever the case I will continue to take this extra step whenever peppers are needed in a dish. Try it and let me know if the removal of pepper's skin works for you. =)

Perhaps this is what's keeping my Chilli irresistible to friends and families... Another original recipe which I pride myself on. That, maybe we'll save it for another post (after I record all my guess-timated portions). =D

Curry Puff

It has been about 4 months? since I first attempted making my own puff pastry, I still don't have the courage to try again so frozen puff pastry sheets will have to do for the time being. In fact, they aren't that bad at all, convenient, easy to handle and taste reasonable. The only drawback is they do get quite pricey.

I did a post on Curry Pok sometime back, the deep fried version. Curry Puff, as its name suggest, is made with a puff pastry skin; there are minimum fuss and very easy to put together. So as expected, this will be a short post. =)

Curry Puff (makes about 16)
(Please credit if you've enjoyed it. Thank you!)

Curry Chicken Filling

640g Puff Pastry (if pre-rolled, it's about 4 sheets)

Egg Wash

Preheat oven to 200ºC

1. Prepare the curry chicken filling and let cool completely.

2. Defrost frozen puff pastry according to manufacturer's instructions. Roll them into a thickness of approximately 0.3-0.5cm and cut into rough 12x12cm squares. If pre-rolled, quarter each sheet.

3. Put a heaped tablespoonful of filling onto each square, half the square into a triangle and pinch the edges together. Crimp the edges with the back of a fork and egg wash the top. If not using immediately, you may refrigerate them for later use although I've never had the chance to keep them in the fridge for more than 1 day.

4. Bake the puffs for 20-25mins. Serve immediately.

Madeleine

We've finally gotten a Madeleine mould!! And of course I'm going to make us some of these delicate French pâtisserie. Madeleine is essentially small little sponge cakes made with a génoise cake batter. Although the traditional version includes finely grounded nuts, I prefer this variation I've tasted at Carousel's buffet @ Royal Plaza on Scotts. I'm definitely sure this isn't their recipe. Haha.. but this is as close as I can get and boy, it tastes soooo good. The cakes remained soft when I had them for breakfast the next day, goes really well with coffee. Yums!! ^_^

Madeleine (makes 24 regular size)

130g All Purpose Flour, sifted

4g Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

3 Large Eggs

85g Brown Sugar

80g Maple Syrup

1 drop of Coffee Emulco

4g Vanilla Extract

120g Butter, unsalted, melted
*updated, I've made minor adjustments to my recipe*

Additional

20g Butter, unsalted, melted

1. Whisk the Flour, Baking Powder and salt to combine and reserved.

2. Melt Butter and let cool.

3. Using a whisk attachment, whisk Eggs and Sugar until it has doubled/tripled in volume and has reached the ribbon stage. Add the Vanilla Extract, Coffee Emulco, Maple Syrup and whisk to combine.

4. Fold 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture to lighten the batter then fold in the remaining flour mixture.

5. Do the same for the melted butter. Whisk 1/4 of the batter into the melted butter to lighten it, then gently fold the melted butter into the batter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up till overnight.

Preheat oven to 190º C

6. Brush the Madeleine mould with melted butter, dust with flour and tap out the excess.

7. Fill the mould with heaped tablespoonfuls of batter (updated, I find piping them in easier), leaving the centre "humped". Bake for 10-13 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center springs back when lightly pressed. Take care not to over bake them or they will dry out very fast.

8. Remove from oven and release the cakes from the mould. You can try to bang them out although I prefer to pry them out using a cake tester or skewer. Go along the edges and the cakes will pop out.

9. Dust with icing sugar when serving. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Or up to 1 month if frozen.

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