CHAR SIEW PAU

Ingredients:
(Pau dough recipe adapted from here. Please refer to the video on how to pleat the pau)

For the Tangzhong starter:
(I made half the recipe)
2 1/2 tbsp/25 g pau flour
125 ml water

For the pau :
(I made half the recipe)
 All the Tangzhong starter
240 ml water(do not use all, leave 2 tbsp for adjustment - you might have to use more than this amount)
5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp shortening
1 ¼ tsp double action baking powder
3 1/2 cups/480 - 500 gms pau flour
1 ½ tsp instant yeast

For the Tangzhong Starter :
(I followed the boiling method found here)

A Tangzhong starter / Water roux starter is a mixture of flour and water. That is to combine together 1 portion of flour with 5 portions of water.

In a bowl, whisk together the water and the flour until the mixture is well blended and lump free.

Stir the mixture while it cooks over the medium heat to reach 65C/150F (like till thick porridge). It takes about 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap to prevent from drying.

Store the starter in the refrigerator after it has completely cooled down.

To use the starter, measure out the amount called for in a recipe and let it warm to room temperature.

For pau:

Put all the ingredients into the breadmachine bowl starting with the list above accordingly, starting with the starter and ending with the yeast on top of the flour. 
Choose the dough function on the bread machine and press start.

In the initial stage of kneading, check if the dough is binding, add the remaining 2 tbsps of water or add more if necessary.  Do not add too much as if the dough is too soft, the pau will not have a nice shape.

Prepare the filling while the breadmachine is having all the fun.

When the fun is over in about 1 1/2 hour, the breadmachine will beep and you can start shaping the paus.

Cut into equal portions and roll all the portions into a very thin circle before wrapping in filling.

Wrap the first circle and so forth.

Let it rise for 20 minutes.

Heat up the steamer and when water is rolling hot, steam small buns for 7 - 8 minutes and big ones for 12 - 15 minutes.

 For char siew fillings:
 (Recipe adapted from here)

1 heap tbsp cornflour
200ml water
1 tbsp hoi sin sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
2 - 3tsp sugar
pinch of ground pepper

about 175g char siew pork, diced  (I used my own pork recipe)
2 -3 shallots, chopped
a little cooking oil

Method :

1. Mix cornflour with water then add the rest of the flavouring ingredients.
2. Heat oil then fry the shallot till softened. Then add in the mixed liquid. Cook till thickened.
3. Add in char siew and heat off.
4. Leave the fillings to cool.

 

 

CHAR SIEW PORK

Ingredients :
(Recipe adapted from The Straits Times - Life Section)

1kg pork neck, sliced into long strips
2 Tbs light soya sauce
2 Tbs dark soya sauce
2 Tbs oyster sauce
2 Tbs honey
6 Tbs white sugar
1/2 Ng Chee Lee char siew powder (optional red food colouring for the char siew, can be bought from spice shops in wet market) (I omitted this)

Method :
1.  Place the pork in a wide and deep dish.  Mix well with the light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, honey, white sugar and char siew powder.

2.  Leave to marinate for about 4 to 6 hrs, or overnight in the freezer.

3.  When ready to cook, pour the pork and marinate into a wok.

4.  Cook the pork on high heat for about 15 to 20 minutes with the wok lid on.  Stir occasionally to make sure that the meat is evenly coated with the marinade.  The char siew is ready when most of the marinade has been reduced to a thick gravy and the meat is caramelised.

5.  Transfer the char siew to a rectangular baking dish.  Spoon the remaining gravy over the pork.

6.  Place the dish on the lowest rack in the oven, set to grill mode.  Grill the char siew for 3 to 5 mins, then remove from the oven and flip the meat with a pair of tongs, and cook the other side for another 3 to 5 mins.  You can grill the char siew for a few minutes more, if you prefer it to be more charred.

7.  Slice the char siew to serve with rice, and spoon the remaining gravy over the char siew and rice.

SHEPHERD'S PIE

Ingredients:
(Recipe adapted from here)

6 big potatoes, cubed
1/2 big white onions, chopped
1 tbsp chopped garlic
300g minced chicken or beef
1 small can of button mushroom
1 cup of mixed vegetable
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Some milk
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp of plain flour mixed with 3 tbsp of water

Methods:
1. Sautee onion and garlic until onion is soft. Add in minced beef/chicken and button mushroom and fry until it is cooked. Add in whole can of cream of mushroom soup and using the can measure one can of water to add in and mix well. Add in mixed vegetable. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the prepared flour mixture to thicken the fillings. Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the right texture you like. Discard the unused flour mixture. Leave the fillings aside for later use.

2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in all the cubed potatoes and boil until it is soft. Test by using a skewer or fork and when it can be poked easily, it is ok. Drain the water and pour soft potatoes into a big mixing bowl. Mashed potatoes quickly while it is hot. After mashing, add in the whole cup of cheddar cheese and mix well. The heat of the potatoes will melt the cheese. Add in some salt and pepper to taste. Add in some milk to the mashed potatoes but do not add too much. During baking, the mashed potatoes will turn slightly wet and soft.

3. Pour the fillings into a glass baking tray or metal baking tray, it doesn't matter. Level the fillings and top it off with the mashed potatoes. Spread evenly. Sprinkle more shredded chedder cheese on top of the mashed potates and baked it in a preheated oven at 200C until the top is brown and crispy.

Note: You can add some mixed herbs or dried oregano, parsley, etc into the filling.

VANILLA CUPCAKES

 

Ingredients :
(Recipe adapted from here) 

makes 24 cupcakes
195 gm cake flour
140 gm plain flour
150 castor sugar (I reduced sugar to 120g)
100 light brown sugar 
1 tbsp baking powder
225 gm salted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes 
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk (I used normal fresh milk)
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 165C. Line cupcake pan with paper cups. In a bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder on low speed until well mix with the k-beater. Add cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk and vanilla essence. Light whisk to mix well. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients into the flour mixture in 3 parts, scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition. Beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

3. Fill papercups with batter to two-third full (for me I filled it up slightly more than 2/3 for a rounder cupcake). Bake it for at least 20 to 25 mins depending on how brown you want you cupcakes to be. Test cake with cake tester and when it comes out clean, it is ready. Transfer to cooling rack to cool down completely.

DIM SUM PRAWN ROLLS

Ingredients :
(Recipe adapted from here)

(makes 10 rolls)
250gm prawn meat ( after deshell weight ) my prawns are quite big, each prawn i sectioned into 3
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
60g fish paste
2 water chestnuts, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp cornflour
slightly more than 1/2 tsp of salt (I reduced to a 1/8 tsp)
1/2 tsp of chicken powder (I reduced to 1/8 tsp)
few drops of sesame oil and some white pepper
a small sprig of coriander leaves, chopped (I used spring onions)

1 large sheet of beancurd sheet, cut into 10 pieces of 9cmx12cm
1 tbsp of flour and 3 tbsps of water mixed together for sealing purpose

Method :
1.After cleaning the prawns, pat them dry and mix them with sugar and baking soda for 20 minutes. Rinse them and pat them dry.

2.Mix the prawn meat , fish paste, water chestnuts and the rest of the ingredients well and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3.Place some fillings onto each small piece of beancurd sheet, brush the edges with the flour water solution and roll them up, pinch the sides a little. (I soaked the beancurd sheet in water as it is too saltish)

4. Deep fry them till they are slightly golden.

EARL GREY MACARONS WITH BLUEBERRY COMPOTE BUTTERCREAM (french method)

Ingredients :
(Recipe adapted from here) I made half the recipe

yields approximately 50 cookies (I made half the recipe)
5g dehydrated egg white powder
28g granulated sugar
225g confectioners (powdered) sugar
125g almond meal
100g aged egg whites
2 bags of shifted Earl Grey tea leaves (I added this)

1. Prepare two half sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking mats. Pre-heat your oven to somewhere between 290-300°F. (I preheat to 160C)

2. Start by weighing out your sugar and egg white powder into a small bowl. Mix with a fork until uniform and set aside. Sift together your almond meal and powdered sugar.(Add in the 2 pkts of Earl Grey tea leaves)

3. Weigh out your egg whites and begin beating them on low speed until foamy. Begin slowly sprinkling in the powdered egg white and sugar mixture as you beat. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until a firm meringue forms.

4. You want firm, glossy peaks in your meringue, you don't want to beat all the way to stiff peaks. So hold yourself back.

5. Beat in food coloring gel now and then add 1/3 of the almond mixture. Folding it in gently. Once combined, add another third of the almond mixture, and so on. For visual reference on how to combine and fold, see this video by Chef Nini.

6. Add your batter to a piping bag with a round tip (any size bit under 1cm works fine) and pipe rows of macarons. 

7. Pick up the pan with both hands, and holding it level, tap it firmly onto the counter several times. This will bring up any air bubbles in the cookies. Pop the bubbles with a toothpick if they don't break while tapping.

8. These cookies NEED to rest on the counter. Between 30-60 minutes depending on the humidity.

9. Bake the cookies for roughly 15 minutes. One sheet at a time.

10. Once the cookies lift easily from the parchment or silicone baking mat they're probably done. To be sure, pop a cookie off with an offset spatula and break it open. The insides should be set and not overly moist (wet uncooked meringue is no good). If it is too moist the cookies will collapse when they cool.

11. To avoid hollows: aim for slightly overcooking the cookies, rather than under cooking them. Yes, this means your cookies might cool a little crisper than you like your macarons. 

Blueberry Compote Italian Buttercream

(Recipe adapted from here)

(fills 50 macarons)

100g blueberries
1 tbsp caster sugar
lemon juice (to taste)

36g egg white (1 egg white)
70g caster sugar
15ml water
120g butter
pinch of salt

Method:

1. Place blueberries, sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice into a pot. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Taste. Let it cool.

2. To make the Italian Buttercream, first cut butter into knob sizes and let it chill in the fridge until ready to use.

3. In a pot, add in caster sugar and water. Bring to a temperature of 118 C. When the temperature reaches 110 C, whisk the egg whites in a mixer. By the time the sugar reaches 118 C, the egg white should be in medium peaks. Gradually stream in the sugar syrup while the mixer is still on medium speed whisk.

4. Whisk till it’s somewhat glossy and that the bowl is not so hot, remove the butter from fridge. Add in a knob into the mixer (while the whisk is still running) one at a time. If you add the butter when the meringue is still very hot, it turns soupy. If you add int he butter when the meringue is cold, you get a split buttercream. After all the butter has been added, whisk for another further 2-3 minutes. If it’s still warm, chill in the fridge for 5 minutes before you whisk it up again.

5. The buttercream should be glossy and buttery. Now, add in the blueberry compote.

PIERRE HERME BITTER CHOCOLATE MACARONS (italian method)

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Pierre Herme Macaron book.  I made half the recipe)

 For the macaron shells:

• 120 grams cacao pâte (or dark chocolate 100% cocoa) (I used 90% cocoa)
• 300 grams ground almonds
• 300 grams icing sugar
• 110 grams aged Egg Whites
• 4.5 grams Red food coloring (or cochineal)

• 300 grams caster sugar
• 75g mineral water
•  110 grams aged Egg Whites

 For the bitter chocolate ganache:

• 400 grams liquid creme fraiche or whipping cream (35% fat)
• 360g grams Valrhona Guanaja couverture chocolate  (I used 90% cacao chocolate)
• 40g cacao pate (or dark chocolate, 100% cocoa solids)
• 140 grams 'La Vierra' butter (sweet  butter from Charentes) at room temperature (I used unsalted butter)

METHOD :

1. Sift together the icing sugar and ground almonds. Chop up the cocao pate and melt it at 50C in a  bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir the food colouring into the first portion of aged egg whites and add this to the bowl of icing sugar and ground almonds but do not stir.

2. Bring the water and sugar to boil at 118C.  When the syrup reaches 115C, simultaneously start whisking the second portion of aged egg whites to soft peaks. (I started whisking the egg whites when the syrup reaches about 100C as I used KA)

3. When the sugar reaches 118C, pour it over the egg whites.  Whisk and allow the meringue to cool down to 50C, then add it to the bowl of icing sugar and ground almonds, stir, then fold in the melted cocao.  Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.

4.  Pipe rounds of batter measuring about 3.5cm in diameter, 2 cm apart on baking trays lined with baking parchment.  Using a sieve, sprinkle them with a light dusting of cocoa powder.  Rap the baking trays on the work surface covered with a kitchen cloth.  Leave to stand for 30mins until a skin forms on the surface.

5. Preheat the fan oven to 180C.  Put the baking trays in the oven.  Bake for 12 mins, briefly opening and shutting the oven door twice during cooking time. (I baked for 8 mins). Take the shells out of the oven and slide them on to the work surface.

6. For the chocolate ganache.  Cut the butter into pieces.  Chop up the chocolate and tip it into a bowl.  Bring the cream to the boil.  Pour it over chocolate and tip it into a bowl.  Bring the cream to the boil.  Pour it over the chopped chocolate a third at a time.

7.  When the mixture reaches 50C, add the pieces of butter a few at a time. Whisk to obtain a smooth ganache.

8.  Pour into a gratin dish.  Press clingfirm over the surface of a ganache and set aside in the fridge for the ganache to thicken.

9.  Spoon the ganache into a piping bag with a plain nozzle.  Pipe a generous mound of gananche on to half the shells.  Top them with remaining shells.

10.  Store the macarons in the fridge for 24 hrs.  Remove from the fridge 2 hrs10mins before eating. 

CRISPY ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients  
(Recipe adapted from here) 

190g butter  
100g icing sugar  
50g egg white  
220g Top flour or Cookie flour (I used Top Flour)
2tsp custard powder  
50g ground almond
 
Almond flakes
For egg wash-3 egg yolks + 1tbsp milk

Method  
1. Cream butter and icing sugar on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape mixing bowl and continue to mix on medium high speed for 3-4minutes till light and fluffy.  

2. Add in egg white and mix on medium high speed for 1min.  

3. Add in ground almond, mix well. Sifted in cookie flour and custard powder. Mix for 1 min to form soft dough (dough is wet).  

4. Spread the dough onto the tray a piece of greaseproof baking paper placed on top of a board. Cover a plastic sheet on top and roll evenly with a rolling pin. Remove the plastic sheet. Transfer dough on greaseproof baking paper onto a baking tray.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C (lower rack, fan forced) for 4mins until half cooked. 

6. Take out from oven and let cool for 1min. Use a pizza cutter or knife, slice into rectangles.

7. Brush with egg yolk and place two pieces a handful of almond flakes on each of the cookie repeat until finished.  

8. Do not brush egg yolk for the whole baking tray at one time, because egg yolk will turn dry quickly and almond flake will not stick to the cookie base.  

9. Continue to bake at 170C (lower rack, fan forced) for 10mins or until golden brown ( try to rotate the tray for few times for even browning).  

10. Once done, remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Remove from the tray and store in air-tight container.