STEAMED RED BEAN BUNS

Steamed Buns with Red Bean Paste
(Recipe adapted from here)

Ingredients:
(makes 12)
300g Hong Kong pau flour
3g baking powder
3g instant yeast
30g caster sugar
160ml water
15g vegetable oil

240g red bean paste

Method:

1. Sieve Hong Kong pau flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add yeast, caster sugar and mix well.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add in water and mix to form a dough. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough until it becomes smooth (about 5 mins). Knead in the vegetable oil and continue to knead for another 10-15 mins or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.  Take a piece of dough  (about the size of a table tennis ball) and stretch it, you should be able to stretch it  to a fairly thin membrane without tearing off easily, if not continue to knead for another 5 to 10mins.
3. Roll dough into a smooth round, place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it proof for about 1 hr or until it doubles in bulk.
4. Punch down the dough and give a few light kneading to release the trapped air bubbles. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 40g each). Roll each portion into a smooth round.
5. Flatten each dough into a small disc with your palm or a small rolling pin, make the edges thinner and the centre portion thicker. Wrap each dough with 20g of red bean paste. Pinch and seal the seams. Place dough seam side down on a square piece of parchment paper. Cover loosely with cling wrap and leave buns to proof for 20-25 mins.
6. Place buns in a steamer and space them apart so that they do not touch one another. Steam at medium to high heat for 12mins (make sure the water is already boiling before steaming). When ready, remove the lid carefully to prevent water from dripping over the buns. Remove immediately and serve warm. Keep any leftovers in fridge (covered with cling wrap or store in airtight containers) and re-steam till hot before serving.

WHITE SANDWICH BREAD

White Sandwich Bread
(Recipe adapted from here)

Ingredients:
(makes one 11cm x 11cm x 20cm loaf)

(A) Gelatinised dough (烫种)

75g bread flour
53g boiling water

(B) Overnight sponge dough (隔夜中种面团)

100g bread flour
60g water (room temperature)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

(C) Main dough（主面团）

225g bread flour
10g milk powder
22g caster sugar
5g salt
4g instant yeast
143g water (room temperature)
60g overnight sponge dough
gelatinised dough from (A)
30g butter (cut into cubes)


Method:

- Gelatinised dough (烫种)

Add the boiling water in (A) into the bread flour, stir and mix to form a rough dough. Cover dough and set aside to cool. Wrap dough and leave it to chill in fridge for at least 12 hrs. (Bring back to room temperature before using.)

- Overnight sponge dough

Mix bread flour in (B) with instant yeast. Add water and mix to form a rough dough. Cover dough let it proof for 30mins. Wrap dough and refrigerate overnight. Note: only 60g is required. Bring back to room temperature before using.

- Main dough

1. Mix together bread four, milk powder, caster sugar, salt and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, and add in water and overnight dough. Knead to form a rough dough. Knead in gelatinised-dough.
2. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough till smooth. This should take about 10mins. Knead in the butter. Continue to knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hand, becomes smooth and elastic. This should take about another 15~20 mins. Do the window pane test: pinch a piece of the dough, pull and stretch it. It should be elastic, and can be pulled away into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.
3. Place dough in a lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about 60mins, or until double in bulk.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll each dough into smooth rounds, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, flatten each dough and roll out to form a longish oval shape. Starting from the shorter end, roll it up swiss-roll style. Leave the doughs to rest for another 10 mins.
6. Flatten each dough and roll it out again to form a long rectangle (around 30cm x 10cm). Flip the dough over and roll up swiss-roll style, roll up as tightly as possible. Pinch and seal the seams. Place the three doughs, seam side down, in a well greased (with butter) pullman tin. (I use any rectangular tray as I dont hv a pullman tin)
7. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave doughs to proof for the second time for about 50~60mins, or until the pan is 80% full. Cover the lid (well greased with butter) and bake at 220degC for 35mins. Unmold immediately and once cool store in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: adapted from Magic Bread by Alex Goh
 

SOUR CREAM MARBLE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:
(Recipe adapted from here)


Chocolate Paste
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp hot water

Cake Batter
250g butter, room temperature
350g caster sugar
5 medium eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
210g sour cream (you can replace with yogurt)
420g all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup chocolate chips (I omitted this)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and the hot water together to make a smooth  paste.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs and then vanilla. Then add in the sour cream, and scraping the bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure it is evenly combined.
4. Fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and blend well. Lastly, mix in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks into the batter and mix well.
5. Remove 1/2 of the batter and mix in the chocolate paste in to it.
6. Spoon in big scoops of vanilla batter into the baking pan and alternating with some spoons on chocolate batter as well to create the marble effect. Repeat till all the batter has been put in.
7. Place in the oven to bake for 35mins or 40 to 50 minutes if you use a bundt pan, depending on your oven. Bake till golden brown and the tester comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly, cover with foil first until done.
8. Once baked, remove from oven and let cool on rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely. Enjoy!!

MEE HOON KUEH

(Recipe adapted from here. I did not add in the meat balls and shrimp)
Ingredients : Dough

• 500g all purpose flour，1tsp salt
• 200ml water
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 1tbsp oil

Method:

• Mix flour, egg and salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Slowly add in water and knead to get a rough dough.
• add in oil and continue kneading till get a soft dough, take about 5mins.
• Shape the dough into ball, keep aside and cover with cling film & rest for 1 hour or more.

Soup Base:

• 100g ikan bilis (anchovy), 2tbsp soy bean, washed and cleaned。
• 1.5 litre water, 500ml meat soup 
• salt & fish sauce to taste.

Method:

1. Boil anchovy and soy beans in water for 45mins, discard anchovy n soy beans.
2. Add the meat soup into the anchovy n soy bean stock.
3. tasted with salt n fish sauce, set aside.

Others Ingredients:

• 200g fresh shrimps, stir fried, set aside。
• 200g mince pork, marinated with light soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and tapioca flour. Stir fried and add in some dark soy sauce, fried till well cook, set aside.
• 20 meat balls
• 4 shitake mushroom, slice n fried till fragrant.

For Garnishing:

• 100g ikan bilis (anchovy), fried till golden brown and crispy.
• 15 shallots, finely sliced and fried till golden brown and crispy.
• Green vegetables such as bok choy.

To cook a bowl per person:-

1. Pour a small bowl of soup base (around 350ml) anf 4 meat balls into a cooking pot.
2. Once soup is boiled, turn to small fire. Tear the dough ball into small and thin pieces and drop it into the boiling soup.
3. Repeat until the dough is completed. Turn to big fire and cook for 1min and serve in serving bowl.
4. Add in mince pork, shrimps, mushrooms and green vegetables.
5. Garnish with fried anchovies and fried shallots.
6. Serve hot with cut chillies.

PUMPKIN MANTOU

Method:
(Recipe adapted from here)

1. cut pumpkin into small pcs. Steam till soft. Mash it while still hot. Set aside till cool before used.
2. Add water and yeast together. Mix well.
3. In a bowl add in flour, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil.
4. Add 2 in 3. Mix well. Knead till you get a smooth dough.
5. Rest dough for 5 minutes.
6. Roll out the dough into rectangle shape (or any shapes you like. I made mine into a rose). Brush some water on top of the surface.
7. Roll up the dough like a swiss roll. (I rolled mine into a rose)
8. cut into small pcs and put the small mantou on the wax paper.
9. Put the mantou in the steamer and proof for 15 minutes.
10. Steam on medium fire for 15 mins. (I actually used 30 minutes to proof)

OREO CHEESECAKE

Ingredients :
(Recipe adapted from here. I did not follow her steps.  I did my own method below.)
 
15 Oreo cookies (I used 1 roll)
8oz pack cream cheese (250g)
50g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
60g sour cream (I used 75g) 

  Method:

1. Poured some tap water into a baking tray and preheat oven to 160C.
2. Crushed the oreo biscuits, add some butter and create a oreo biscuit base in a round tin.
3. Whisk cream cheese until smooth.
4. Add in sugar, beat until combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
5. Add in vanilla extract into the egg and mix well.
6. Add in the egg slowly, beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
7. Add in sour cream, beat untill combined. 
8. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the oreo biscuit base in a tin over a water bath for 40mins.  Leave to cool and refrigerate overnight.