Food experiments from my little kitchen

 My son loves Shio pan from the local bakery Four leaves. The Shio pan is unique as it is wrapped with a piece of ham inside. I want to try and recreate his favourite bread! After researching, I followed the below Youtube video as it "looks" simple and easy to follow.  Happy Amy's video on Shio Pan. The video is in Cantonese so I had to turn on the subtitles.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnWWUTYkEIo Looking not too bad after baking The not so pretty shio pan prior baking  Ingredients 200g bread flour   15 g sugar  3g salt  130g water  2g yeast  20g softened butter  Filling : 40g butter; 6 pieces of ham (optional)  Method 1. Mix all the ingredients except for butter in a mixing bowl.  2. Hand knead the dough till it starts to form gluten and become stretchy. Initially the dough will be very sticky. Just keep on kneading it and it will become less sticky. If you try to stretch it, you will be able to see a "not-so-thin" ...

Because my son and me simply love eating baguette, I spent time searching through Youtube videos and baking websites and decided to try the below recipe.  https://tasteofartisan.com/french-baguette-recipe/ This website is very informative and definitely helps a beginner like me to understand better on the various steps. In this recipe I followed to do stretch and fold rather than hand knead and it is really useful for me as I do not have a stand mixer. I am very happy with the result from this bake! The baguettes turned out to be softer and have a nicer flavour perhaps due to the honey added.  Ingredients 250g bread flour  1/2 tsp yeast  1 tsp salt  180g water  12.5g honey  Method 1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  2. Add in honey and water then mix till it is fully combined. Rest for 15 mins. 3. Do stretch and fold every 30 mins for a total of 1.5 hours.  4. Transfer the dough to an oiled container and put in the fridge overni...

I attend a bread baking class using my skills future credit. It was such a great experience. I have only attempted bread couple of times and I must say it was not very successful. I learnt from the class that bread baking really requires time and patience.  One of the breads that I made in the class was baguettes and I really love eating baguettes. Sometimes I would get them from the local supermarket or bakery. But only from the class, did I realised freshly baked baguettes are the nicest!  In the class, time is of essence hence I was given bread improver to put in the baguette. At home, I skip the bread improver and reduce the yeast amount. My instructor taught me to let the dough rest overnight in fridge and ferment longer instead of using more yeast. My oven is Tefal Optimo 19L oven. It is relatively small hence my recipes are all catered for my oven.  Ingredients 250g bread flour  1/2 tsp salt  1 tsp yeast  170g water  Method 1. Mix all the dry in...

  I always stick to the usual pineapple tart recipes for my CNY bakes but this year I chose to try something different. I tried this cheese pineapple tart recipe and my family loves it!  https://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2015/01/cheesy-pineapple-tarts.html  This recipe is a keeper for me. :)  Ingredients 300g store-bought pineapple jam (roll into 6g each)  175g butter  50g condensed milk  235 plain flour  1 egg yolk  25g parmesan cheese powder  egg wash 1 egg yolk  1 tsp milk  Recipe 1. Cream butter and condensed milk till it is light in colour.  2. Add in the egg yolk and mix well.  3. Sieve the flour and cheese powder then add into the mixture to form a dough.   4. Weigh the dough and split into balls of 9g each.  5. Using a rolling pin, roll and flatten the ball. Put the pinepapple jam in the centre and gently wrap the dough all around the jam till its nicely covered up.  6. Put the dough on t...

Love this pineapple tart recipe. I tried for the first time this year and like it very much. It is very simple to prepare yet very delicious. Cannot stop popping into my mouth! Credit:  Bake for Happy Kids Ingredients   Store-bought pineapple jam (roll into 6g each) 150g flour  10g cornflour  10g icing sugar  1/8 tsp baking powder  1/4 tsp salt  100g unsalted butter  7.5g egg yolk  1/4 tsp vanilla extract  egg wash   1 egg yolk  2 tsp milk  Recipe 1. Sieve the flour, cornflour, icing sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  2. Cut the butter into small cubes and add into the bowl.  3. Using the fingertips only, rub the butter into the flour mixture till it forms  coarse crumbs.  4. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and knead into a dough. If you find the  dough becoming too soft to handle, put it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.  5. Put the dough between cling wrap and roll with the ...

This is my favourite to do recipe for CNY baking. I nearly lost it this year because I could not find back the screenshot I took years ago. To avoid the history repeating itself, I decided to post here for my own reference. :)  Ingredients 210g tapioca flour (210g is for the cookie, you need to dry additional flour in case)  1 egg yolk  80g icing sugar 100ml coconut milk  6-8 pandan leaves  Recipe 1. Wash the pandan leaves and dry them before cutting them into short strips. 2. Spread the flour on the baking tray and put in the cut pandan leaves. 3. Bake the flour at 150 degree for 1 hour. Alternatively you can dry them in the wok over the stove but that will cause a huge powder mess.  4. Remove the pandan leaves. The dried flour can be kept in airtight for maximum of 2 days.  5. Mix egg yolk, icing sugar and 50ml of coconut milk well before adding 210g of the baked tapioca flour.  6. Knead the dough for about 15 to 20 mins to get smooth texture. B...

Decided to post this recipe as my boy really loves to eat this and wanted to share it with my friends. Ingredients 1.2 cup of cooked rice 1 salmon slab chopped garlic diced onion diced carrot *any veg to your liking 1 pack of Emborg 3 cheese bake (shredded) 1 can of Campbell mushroom soup butter olive oil salt and pepper dried parsley Recipe 1. Marinate salmon and bake it in oven till cooked (about 180 degree for 10 to 12 minutes). I used Italian herb rub for the marinate. You can use simple salt and pepper if you do not have any herbs. Wait till it cools down then flake it and set aside. 2. In the wok, heat up butter and olive oil (You can choose to use either one). Add in the garlic, onion and carrot. Let it cook for a while before adding other veg if you have. Then add in the cooked rice. 3. Stir fry till the rice and veg are evenly mixed before adding in the salmon. Lightly season with some salt and pepper. Turn off the fire. 4. Scoop the rice up and lay on...

I bought a packet of coconut milk thinking to make jelly but ended up did not use it. It was sitting in my fridge for some time so I wanted to try using it to make nasi lemak. Not wanting to waste the remaining coconut milk, I added it to the chicken. It turned out to be very yummy. I know from the photos it looks crispy but trust me it is not the super crispy chicken. Haha =p Ingredients 2 bonele ss chicken legs turmeric powder chopped garlic / garlic powder salt black pepper 6 Tbsp coconut milk 1 banana leaf (optional) Recipe 1. Marinate the chicken with garlic, salt, black pepper and turmeric powder and set it aside for at least 30 minutes. I kept mine uncovered inside the fridge. 2. Heat up the pan with oil. Put the chicken in only when the oil is hot. Pan fry it on both sides for total about 6 minutes till each side is nicely brown. 3. Place a banana leaf on the baking tray and transfer the chicken to the baking tray. 4. In a small bowl, add a little salt, turme...

That day I came home did not really feel like to cook but my boy asked to eat at home. I did not have enough time to prepare our usual soup so decided to make something easy and simple so that he can have some soup for dinner. The ingredients in the soup are black fungus, dried mushrooms and eggs which are normally stocked in my kitchen. I only prepared a very small portion so the measurements are all estimated. Ingredients 5 to 6 pcs dried black fungus  3 to 4 pcs dried shiitake mushrooms  1 beaten egg  chopped spring onions (garnish) chicken stock powder (you can replace with fresh stock if you have)  water  dark soy sauce  light soy sauce pepper  Cornstarch solution  Recipe 1. Soak the black fungus and shiitake mushrooms till softened and cut them into thin shreds. Discard the soaking water for black fungus, you can keep the soaking water for mushrooms.  2. Add the soaking water for mushrooms in a pot a...

I happened to have some celery in my fridge so I decided to combine it with scallops to make a stir fry. My favourite scallops go well with anything. :) Ingredients Approx. 15 scallops 3 celery sticks (cut into slices) some chopped carrot slices chopped garlic 1 Tbsp oyster sauce salt pepper Recipe 1. Season the scallops with salt and pepper then pat dry with kitchen towel. 2. In a heated pan with oil, add in the scallops in a clockwise direction. Let it cook for 2 minutes till you see the juice oozing and slightly turning brown then flip over to the other side and let it cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan both the scallops and the juice. Do NOT discard the juice. 3. In the wok, heat up the oil and add in chopped garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, add in the carrot and celery to stir fry. As you can see the celery is sliced thin, there is no need to cook too long as we do not want to lose the crispy texture. 4. Add in oyster sauce and stir fry to mix b...

Every Chinese New year, I will end up with mandarin oranges and nobody eats them except me. To reduce wastage, I would try to add them in my cooking. This year I tried something new with chicken wings and my boy loves it. Sorry I am unable to provide very accurate measurements because I estimated while I was cooking. Ingredients 7 chicken wings 1 tsp white sesame (garnish) Shredded lettuce (garnish) Marinate Salt White pepper Cornstarch Baking powder Oil (I used extra light olive oil) Sauce 2 Mandarin oranges (juiced) 1 Tbsp oyster sauce garlic powder 1 tsp vinegar sugar Recipe 1. Marinate the chicken wings with the ingredients stated above. For the baking powder, I only added slightly less than half a tsp. Added some oil so that it is easier to coat the wings. Leave it for at least 30 minutes. 2. Arrange the wings neatly on the baking tray and make sure no overlapping so that they can get baked evenly for 180 degree 25 to 30 minutes. Depending on your ove...

I wanted to clear the one and only onion in my pantry and decide to try baking chicken with onions. After researching around in google, I found this lovely recipe from the Spruce - Baked chicken with sweet onions . I modified it with what I had in my kitchen. The chicken was so tender and succulent that my boy kept praising it. I should find some time to cook this again. Ingredients 2 deboned chicken legs  1 yellow onion  4 tbsp flour  2 tsp Nomu Cajun rub (you can replace with your own spice mix)  1/2 tsp garlic powder  Salt Black pepper  Sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce  1 tbsp honey  1 tsp Worcestershire sauce  Recipe 1. Marinate the chicken legs with salt and black pepper. Cut the onion into slices and set aside.  2. In a shallow tray, add the flour, spice rub and some garlic powder. Mix well.  3. Heat the oil in the wok. Dry the chicken with kitchen towel then place the chicken on the tray and...

My favourite dish to eat during confinement was stir fry pork slices in ginger. Simple yet appetizing. Just need pork and ginger from the kitchen and you get a super yummy dish to go with rice. Ingredients   200g lean pork  1 ginger knob  Marinade   White pepper  Soy sauce  Sesame oil  Cornstarch  Sauce   1 Tbsp oyster sauce  1 Tbsp light soy sauce  1 tsp dark Soy sauce 4-5 Tbsp water  Sugar  Chinese cooking wine  Recipe   1. Cut the lean pork into thin slices. (Tip: you can start slicing when the pork is semi-thawed. It is easier to cut.)  2. Marinate the pork slices using the marinade stated above.  3. Cut the ginger into pieces (or slices if you don’t mind eating it). Prepare the sauce in a bowl using the ingredients stated except for sugar and Chinese cooking wine.  4. Heat up the wok. Put in the ginger slices when the oil is hot. Let the ginge...

Our family loves chicken wings particularly just the mid joints! My regular chicken stall at the market does not sell the mid joints alone so I would usually buy it from NTUC. That day they happened to have promotion for 2 packs so I bought and braised it with mushrooms and black fungus. Ingredients 12 mid joint wings 3 dried shiitake mushrooms some black fungus Ginger slices Chopped garlic  Spring onions (garnish) Water Marinate Soy sauce White pepper Cornstarch Grated ginger (optional) Sauce 1 Tbsp Oyster sauce 1 Tbsp Dark soy sauce Light soy sauce Sugar  White pepper Sesame oil Recipe 1. Soak the dried mushrooms and black fungus till soften. I leave it to soak about 2 hours. You may retain the water for soaking mushrooms if you want to use it for braising. Cut the mushrooms and black fungus into slices and set aside. 2. To the wings, add soy sauce, white pepper, cornstarch to marinate. You can add some grated ginger to it. Let it sit in the mar...

I wanted to make a simple yet different sauce from our usual ginger spring onion combination. This sauce is really easy and you can always adjust the sweetness/saltiness to your liking. A dash of black pepper makes it extra yummy. I have steamed some broccoli to garnish the plate. A healthy combination of vegetables and meat for weekday dinner. :) Ingredients Pork tenderloin Minced garlic  Sesame seeds   Black pepper Marinate Soy sauce  Sesame oil  Cornstarch  Sauce 1 Tbsp honey  2 Tbsp Soy sauce  2 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine  Recipe 1. Cut the pork tenderloin into thin slices and marinate using the seasonings stated. 2.  Heat oil in the wok and add in minced garlic.  3. Stir fry till fragrant then add in the pork slices.  4. Cook till the meat is no longer pink then add in the sauce.  5. Stir fry for a while, add a dash of black pepper and it is done.  N...

My usual cooking routine at home consists of a soup and two dishes and I will make sure that we will have one vegetable dish. This is very important as I always feel that when we eat out, we do not take in enough vegetables. But I don't really like to eat fibrous vegetable or vegetable stems. Yup I am a picky eater when it comes to vegetables. So my usual vegetable choices are broccoli, baby spinach (hoi chai), shanghai green or japanese green. Recently I discovered spinach is not bad too! When I am feeling lazy, I would just blanch it. But on other days, doing stir fry is great. :)  Ingredients Spinach Bunashimeiji mushrooms Garlic slices Chicken stock powder Sugar Soy sauce Sesame oil  Recipe 1. Heat the oil in the wok and add the garlic slices. 2. Stir fry till fragrant, then add in the spinach. 3. Stir fry at high heat till the spinach has wilted. Add in some water, chicken stock powder, sugar. 4. Let it cook for a while before seasoning with soy sauce a...

One of my usual dishes is steamed minced meat on egg tofu . Yesterday I tried to steam silken tofu instead of egg tofu and make a minced meat sauce to go with it. My son loves it a lot. I guess for children, you can never go wrong with minced meat and tofu. :) For below recipe, you need to do steaming and stir fry separately. If you prefer just stir fry alone, you can try this minced meat tofu with sauce . Ingredients Minced meat (approx 100~120g) 1 box of silken tofu 1 stalk of spring onion 1 clove garlic Cornstarch solution  Marinate sesame oil white pepper soy sauce  Sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp dark soy sauce 1 tsp soy sauce water (approx 1 small bowl)  sugar Recipe 1. Marinate the minced meat with the seasonings stated in marinate. Minced the garlic and set aside. Cut the spring onion and separate the white part from the green part. Chop the white parts finely and set aside. Chop the green parts finely and set aside for garnish later. 2. C...

I bought a bottle of garlic black bean sauce thinking how convenient it is to just put the sauce as it is without adding other seasoning. But it did not taste like how I would like it to be (just tasted very salty.. >_<) and so the bottle of garlic black bean sauce was quietly put aside in my fridge until I saw it again during my recent fridge clean-up. Decided to try and use the sauce again and this time it tasted so much better. Ingredient Cod fish (or other white fish) Ginger slices Chopped spring onions Chopped garlic Cornstarch solution  Marinate White pepper Soy sauce Chinese cooking wine Sauce 1 tsp garlic black bean sauce 1 tsp oyster sauce 1 tsp soy sauce Some water (approx half a small bowl) Sugar (approx 1/2 tsp) Recipe 1. Marinate the fish with the seasonings stated in marinate and let it sit for 5 minutes. 2. Put ginger slices on the fish and steam it together with the marinate until cooked. Mine took about 12 minutes on electrical steame...

Marketing can be challenging when cooking for a small family. Like when I buy a cabbage, I probably have to cook it twice in the same week. That day I bought one to make chicken soup on one day, the other half cabbage was sitting in the fridge so I wanted to make something like chap chye but a simpler version with all the possible ingredients I have at home. This is another time saving dish because it allows me to do some quick washing up when the vegetable is cooking. Ingredients Half a cabbage (cut into chunks) 5 small dried shiitake mushrooms Some dried black fungus Sliced carrot Sliced ginger Chopped garlic Sauce 1 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp tau cheo White pepper Sugar to taste  Some water Recipe 1. Soak the mushrooms and black fungus till soft. Remove the stems from mushrooms and cut the mushrooms into strips. For the black fungus, remove the thick part and cut them into pieces. Retain the liquid for soaking mushrooms. 2. Heat the oil in the wok and stir fry t...

Ever since I left my full time work last June, I suddenly took on the additional task of preparing breakfast at home. My boy used to go childcare for breakfast and my husband will buy his own breakfast but now I am the one preparing for them. So I thought it will be a good idea to share some of the breakfast that I made.  Cream cheese spread with strawberries  Peanut butter spread with strawberries  Personally I love the bread with cream cheese spread. I like to add cut strawberries in the bread. Sometimes strawberries are sour and nobody at home likes to eat as a whole. But when it is cut and put in bread, the sour tangy taste goes well with the bread and spread. :) Yeah, for the little boy, he loves to eat peanut butter with bread. Putting fruits in breakfast makes it healthy!