Easy Pandan Cupcakes

I like the texture of my earlier no fail red velvet Cake. So thought maybe I can adopt this recipe to make pandan cake. Instead of vanilla essence and red coloring, I replaced with pandan paste. Result: it surprised me with kaya aftertaste, not sure why... The texture was like the red velvet cake, soft and fluffy.

Ingredients: (make 5 cupcakes)
60g unsalted butter, room temperature (I used Margarine)
150gm caster sugar (I used 90-100gm)
1 egg
1/2 tsp pandan paste
120ml buttermilk (I used 100ml low fat milk with 1/2 tsp White vinegar, rest for 5 min or more)
1 & 1/2 tsp white vinegar
160gm plain flour (I used top flour, sifted)
1/2 tsp salt (I omitted as I use margarine and not unsalted butter)
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
2. Whisk margarine and sugar till slightly pale, creamy and light.
3. Add egg in and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together pandan paste and some milk.
5. Add to butter mixture and mix evenly and well colored.
6. Add remaining milk and alternate with top flour. Mix till everything well incorporated.
7. Add baking soda and vinegar(and salt if you use unsalted butter), continue to stir till well mixed.
8. Fill each cup 3/4 full and bake in preheated oven for 25-30min.
9. Check if skewer inserted in centre come out clear. Once clear, remove from oven and cool on rack.

I am submitting this post to Very good recipes

XO Sauce Instant Noodle

Saw a demo showing how to cook XO Sauce Instant Noodle from ”吃饭皇帝大”, as i like this dish, I quickly memorized and jotted down the ingredients and method. Since then, i have cooked this dish for many times, and each time was promising. Here is it:

Ingredients:
1 packet sesame oil instant noodle (don't throw away seasoning and sesame oil)
1 egg
1 onion (cut rings)
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp XO Sauce
3 tbsp water
Some prawn
Some bean sprout & chives

Method:
1. Boil noodle till just cooked. Set aside.
2. Fry egg with oil, fry like scramble egg. Set aside.
3. Fry onion till transparent and fragrant.
4. Add XO sauce and continue frying till turn dry but oily.
5. Add prawn and fry till half cook then add water and stir. Add oyster sauce, sugar, instant noodle seasoning and stir well.
6. Add noodle and stir fry on higher heat, add bean sprout and chives. Stir well.
7. Add egg and stir well.
8. Before serve, drizzle sesame oil and ready to serve.

P.S: instead of prawn, I added left over roasted duck. You can also add any other ingredients like chicken, cha xiu, etc.

Lemon Cake

Last Saturday was my mom's birthday, I asked her what birthday cake she wanted me to bake, she said lemon cake. Coincidentally, another friend whose birthday also in March, wanted me to bake lemon cake for her birthday too! (didn't know lemon cake is so popular)

So for the past weekends, I have been trying out different lemon cake recipes(vegan and used oil not butter), baked twice, both turnEd out wet and not successful. So I guessed, the previous recipe that I tried and posted was still the best, so this is it:

Ingredients:
100g margarine
60g caster sugar
2 eggs
120g top flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
Zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon

Method:
1. Beat margarine till smooth.
2. Add half potion of sugar each time, till mixture turn slightly pale.
3. Add egg, pour 1/4 potion each time till mix well.
4. Add sifted top flour, baking powder and salt. Use spatula to mix well.
5. Add lemon zest and juice, mix well.
6. Fill pan 3/4 cup full and put in preheated oven at 160 degree, bake for 20 minutes.
7. Cool on rack and ready to serve.

Texture was soft, fluffy yet dense, and very lemony. We liked!

Crystalized Yam 拔丝芋头

This is a dessert that my mom used to cook, but she used sweet potatoes. This syrup coated sticky dessert dish also served in most Chinese restaurants, and mostly used sweet potatoes. I wanted to clear the yam in the fridge, so I thought this is a dish that I can used up most yam yet it is a dessert(means will eat more).

I followed this recipe. To modify it to a healthier version, I did not deep fried the yam and I used brown sugar. As this is my first time "cooking" sugar, I tried not to overcook and burn the sugar. Result: The syrup was not thick enough and it did not give me that sticky effect. Next time if you try, remember to cook sugar till boiled with full of bubbles before adding yam or sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:
1/3 yam (cut into chunks)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Some white sesame seeds

Method:
1. Without adding oil, Fried yam till golden brown. Set aside.
2. Fried brown sugar with no oil. When it's heated, add water and keep stirring till boil and thicken.
3. Throw back the yam and fry till yam are coated with syrup.
4. Top with a pitch of roasted sesame seeds.
4. Serve hot or cold.

P.S: if can't finish, can store in fridge and make Bobo chacha-- mixed with shaved ice and coconut milk.

Easy One Bowl Banana Marble Cake

My friends were invited to come to my house, and I was kind enough to ask her what cake she wanted to eat at my place. She requested for banana chocolate cake. So I searched around for recipes and tried to bake the week before they were here. It did not turned out well. So I searched around for easy to make banana cake again Before the actual day. After much research, I decided on this recipe. To play safe, I whisk sugar and egg till creamy first before adding the rest of ingredients, and I thought maybe I can add cocoa powder to one potion to create marble effect, in order to meet my friend's requirement: banana + chocolate cake. Hee!

Ingredients: (half the original recipe)
1/4 cup (60g) vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp double action baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup (80g, original recipe asked for 1/2 cup-120g)icing sugar
3 medium size banana (mashed with fork)
1 cup(235g) top flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:
1. In a bowl, Whisk sugar and egg till pale and creamy.
2. Add oil, vanilla essence, mashed banana.
3. Sifted in flour, baking powder and baking soda, mix well with salt.
4. Pour half potion in a pan. Add cocoa powder in another potion, mixed well and pour in the pan.
5. Use a skewer to swirl the mixture to create marble effect.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 175deg C for 30-40 minutes.
7. Check using a skewer. If skewer come out clean, removed from oven and cool on rack.

Verdict: my friends liked it! texture is super fine and not dry. Soft and flavourful, will definitely bake it again! :)

Thai Style Pineapple Fried Rice

On the same day I baked banana cake, I also cooked pineapple fried rice for my friends. This is the recipe I get my inspiration from and modified from it.

Ingredients: (for 1 bowl)
2 Garlic (chopped)
3 shallot (chopped)
1 bowl of cooked rice
1 egg
2-3 rings of canned pineapple (cut to cubes)
1 lap cheong (Chinese sausage)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 small box of raisin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp fish sauce
Hao chi to taste
1 tbsp Pork floss

Method:
1. Fried garlic and shallot till fragrant.
2. Add sausage and fried till cooked. Push aside.
2. Fried egg, like fried scramble egg and push back garlic and sausage.
3. add stock, fish sauce. Stir well.
4. Add cooked rice, pineapple cubes, raisin and turmeric powder, stir fried for awhile till fragrant and dry.
5. Do tasting, if not enough, add 1/2 tsp Hao chi at a time till ready to serve.
6. Top with pork floss.

Crab Meat with Eggs

That day I bought a packet of crab meat. Initially wanted to cook with packet shark fin soup. But I forgot about the idea after looking through recipes for inspiration. This was the recipe I followed and it reminded me of this Chinese dish I had in Chinese restaurant. I omitted some ingredients and only used crab meat and eggs.

Ingredients:

150g Crab Meat
2 tsp Chinese Cooking Wine
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3 Eggs
A dash of White Pepper
2 slices of Ginger, finely chopped or minced
3/4 cup Chicken Stock or Water + 1 tsp Corn Flour
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1-2 tsp Soy Sauce

Method:

1. Combine crab meat, Chinese cooking wine, salt, eggs and pepper. Lightly beaten and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat oil on low to medium heat gently fry the egg mixture until lightly firm. set aside. (Do not brown the eggs)
2. Add oil and turn the heat on high, cook ginger briefly. Add chicken stock, soy sauce and sesame oil.
3. Bring sauce to boil and mix in the eggs. Continue cooking and let it simmer on a low heat for a minute.

Osaka Toast

I fell in love with okonomiyaki when I was in Osaka. I had it in a very small shop in a small alley in Osaka. The chef cooked okonomiyaki in front of us the tepannyaki way. The ingredients were fresh, the crust was crispy and the sauce was so flavourful. It was unforgettable. Recently I read a post by carol that replicate okonomiyaki on a toast and I was inspired to follow as I had all the ingredients(i didn't have bacon so i used prawn and I omitted seaweed). It was good but something was missing.. if add okonomiyaki sauce it will be superb! So if You are interested to try, do add the sauce. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: (for 2 serving)
2 slices of bread
6-8 cooked prawn
60g cabbage (grated)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
50-60g mozzarella cheese
Some mayonnaise and bonito flakes

Method:
1. In a bowl put cooked prawn, grated cabbage, egg and salt and mix well.
2. Preheat oven at 200C deg.
3. Top bread with mixed ingredients and mozzarella.
4. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes till cheese melted.
5. Remove from oven. Squeeze some mayo on top and top with bonito flakes. Ready to serve.