Rose Tuna Buns

Each week I have to think of something for Darrius's lunch box as he likes varieties  now compared to previously. He told me he don't like having the same food for 2 days consecutively. *sigh* Kids these days are so darn fortunate! He did not know his poor mommy gets the same peanut butter or butter and jam sandwiches the entire week last time!

Schools here are pretty strict when it comes to food as there are students who has a host of allergies! Students are not allowed to bring anything that has nuts due to some students in his school has Anaphylaxis where it could be potentially life threatening. It is so serious that the sufferers could have an acute reaction when in contact with common allergen food such nuts.

As he has a recess and a lunch break, I will normally pack him something that is filling as well as nutritionally balanced. For recess he will normally have his fruits and some 'treats'. :)

He likes tuna so decided to make him some rose shaped tuna buns which some Munch Ministry's forummers shared previously.

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It is pretty easy to make and they are yummy! You can either bake them as a stand alone or squeeze them together in a round baking pan which has the above effect.

I used the same bread dough recipe as the Pork Floss Buns.

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Ingredients

Dough

• 250 gm Bread flour


• 25 gm Cake flour


• 5 gm Instant dry yeast


• 15 gm Milk powder


• 40 gm Caster sugar


• ½ tsp Salt


• 100 ml Water - luke warm


• 80 ml Milk - luke warm


• 40 gm Butter, cubed and softened at room temperature


• 1 Egg - whisked, for egg wash

Filling

• 1 can Tuna in brine (185 gm)


• 2 tbsp Mayonaise


• 1 tbsp Wholegrain mustard


• 1 tsp Lemon juice


• Salt and coarse black pepper to taste

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Methods

1. Prepare bread dough (refer to here) and let it proof for 1 to 1.5 hours or to double in size.


2. Remove dough from bowl onto a floured surface and punch out all the air and let it rest for 15 minutes covered with clingy wrap.


3. Cut dough equally into 7 balls, flatten with a rolling pin and place a scoop of the filling in the centre. Use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut 4 slits like the image above.


4. Once you are done wrapping the dough over the tuna, arrange them in a lightly greased round pan and let it go for second proofing for about an hour like the image below.


5. Egg wash and sprinkle some dried parsley flakes (optional) over the tuna before sending into a preheated to 160º C oven (fan forced) and bake for 20 minutes.


6. Removed from oven and cool on wire rack.

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Nyonya Fried Yam Beans with Dried Cuttlefish - Jiu Hu Char

Before we moved to Melbourne, I've never know that they do sell yam beans (sengkuang) here. I was pretty happy to spot some when I visited the Asian Grocer and has been buying when they are on special. Well, they don't come cheap of course! On good days, they go for $7.99/kg but I normally get 50% off from the Asian Grocer near my place when they are about to close for the day.

The shape is a little odd at times compared to those sold in Malaysia but surprisingly they are sweet and juicy! Beside using them to make rojak the other family favorite is the fried yam beans with dried cuttlefish or famously known as a Nyonya dish, Jiu Hu Char.

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Actually I liked my mom's version opposed to my MIL's but my mom's not the authentic ones since she is not a Peranakan whereas my MIL is married to a Baba so she cooked the authentic version which uses cabbage. My mom only use yam beans and carrots. However, I am adding the dried prawns which is part of my mom's recipe as I really like the taste and texture of both dried prawns and dried cuttlefish together.These are good to eat together with Chinese lettuce and sambal belacan :)

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Ingredients

• 1 Yam Bean (large around 600g) - skin peeled and shredded


• 1 Carrot - shredded


• ¼ Cabbage - shredded


• 250 gm Pork belly - cut into 5x5mm strips


• 60 gm Dried Prawns - soaked and coarsely chopped


• 5 Dried Shitake mushrooms (pre-soaked and sliced thinly)


• 15 gm Shredded dried cuttlefish (pre-soaked)


• 4 Shallots - sliced thinly


• 6 cloves Garlic - minced


• 200-300 ml Water (or chicken stock)


• Dark soy sauce (depending of preference, I like mid to dark tone)


• 2 tbsp Osyter sauce


• Light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste


• Sugar (optional as the yam beans are quite sweet by nature)


• Oil for frying


• 1 stalk spring onion (optional)

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Methods

1. Heat up frying pan/wok with some oil and sauté the chopped dried prawns and shredded dried cuttlefish till fragrant, removed and put aside.


2. Add more oil to the same frying pan (around 2 tablespoon if using a non stick pan) and sauté the garlic and shallot till light brown then add in the pork belly strips and cook till 70% cooked.


3. Toss in the shredded cabbage and fry for 5 minutes (or until soften), then add in the shredded yam beans and carrot and continue to fry till well mixed. Add in the sliced mushrooms.


4. Add in dark soy sauce and stir for another minute, toss in the sautéed dried prawns and cuttlefish. Fry for 2 minutes then add in water/stock, stir to mix and cover for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.


5. When about to be ready, add in sugar, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and pepper to taste.


6. Sprinkle the chopped spring onion in before dishing up.

 

Pork Floss Buns

I used to live in Singapore for most of my adult life. Singapore is really a little food heaven which is a melting pot for all sort of cuisines. In fact, I missed a lot of the food sold there more than those in Penang, Ipoh or KL.

It was during the late 90's or the early millennium that a new style of bread shop popping up around the island. If you are a Singaporean or happened to stay in Singapore during that period, you would have known about the first Bread Talk opened in Bugis Junction. Their signature pork floss bread was a mega hit! Selling at $1.40 for a bun that tasted so yummilicious got many people hooked! I used to buy like 3 or 4 pieces and can eat at least 2 in a go! :)

However, due to their rapid expansion, I personally felt the quality of their floss buns had deteriorated over the years. Somehow the taste and texture is not the same as those I used to buy in their maiden store. Also, the floss used in different country seems to differ so much that it changes the original texture. Also, there were so many copycats around and everyone has their own version...

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Anyway, I have wanted to make my own and did not get around it until  recently after purchasing a packet of pork floss. I have used this bread recipe shared by Christine and concoct my own mayonnaise spread.

Though I have the bread maker but I decided to use my Kitchen Aid to knead the dough as I wanted to achieve the ultra soft and fluffy texture since I am not using the water roux method. I kneaded longer too... almost an hour compared to the usual 35-40 minutes.

The dough is ready once you achieved the very stretchy state when doing the window pane test... like the picture below...

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Ingredients:

• 250 gm Bread flour


• 25 gm Cake flour


• 5 gm Instant dry yeast


• 15 gm Milk powder


• 40 gm Caster sugar


• ½ tsp Salt


• 100 ml Water - luke warm


• 80 ml Milk - luke warm


• 40 gm Butter, cubed and softened at room temperature


• 1 Egg - whisked, for egg wash


• Pork/Chicken floss

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Mayonnaise Spread

• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise


• 1 tbsp Condensed milk


• 1 tsp Sugar


• Salt to taste


• A squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

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Methods

1. Pour in warm milk and warm water into mixer then gently pour in the flours, milk powder, sugar and sprinkle the dry yeast around. Set mixer to speed 2 to get all the above ingredients combined. Sprinkle in the salt.


2. Continue to knead for about 5 minutes then slowly add in the butter cubes and let it knead till dough is smooth. Knead for at least 50 minutes (I alternate between speed 2 and 4) or when you do the window pane test your dough is stretchy like the above picture.


3. Roll your kneaded dough into a big round ball before putting into a greased bowl (I read from a site that it is best to proof your bread dough in a plastic or glass container and not metal or aluminium as the later will affect the rising/texture of the bread) and proof in a warm place for at least an hour or when it has doubled in size.


4. Floured your surface before transfring your your dough and then give it a good punch/deflate to release the air inside. Let it rest for 15 minutes covered with clingy wrap.


5. Divide dough into 8 or 9 portions and roll into round shape or any shape you desired and place them on greased/lined baking tray. Cover, and let it proof the second time until it is doubled... about an hour.


6. Pre-heat oven to 170ºC or 160ºC for fan forced oven. Egg wash the surface.


7. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes then removed buns from oven and let them sit on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to cool on wire rack.


8. After buns are completely cooled, cut a slit in the middle.


9. Mix all the ingredients for the spread and spread the slit and surface of the bun.


10. Pour floss onto a plate and gently press the top of the bun onto the floss so they will stick onto the mayo spread.

Nyonya Steamed Yam Cake (Or-Kuih)

A couple of weeks back, a friend gave me some home made steamed yam cakes and that actually sparked the interest of making some myself! I can't really say I am a fan of yam (taro) but anything savoury I'll go for it. I love the toppings! :)

Seeing that yam is not expensive, gave me a very good reason to test some recipes out. I checked online as well as some recipe books but the ingredients used differed very much from what I used to, so I called my mom up and ask for her recipe and it took me 3 attempts to perfect the flour mix as mom can't remember the actual amount of water she used.

The first two attempts, the batter was too hard as I did not have the wheaten flour so I used the potato starch which really harden the mixture and also, the recipe did not required the yam cubed to be steamed prior adding to the flour mix which gave me a very hard yam cubed. On the second attempt, I used wheaten flour but cut down on the liquid and again I got a very hard batter. I finally managed to get a perfect consistency on the third attempt and was  really happy with it!

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These tasted so good with chili sauce and a bowl of black glutinous rice porridge! The hubby said the thought of having these brought him back to Penang! :)

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Ingredients

• 300 gm Yam (taro) - cut into small small dice


• 300 gm Minced pork


• 1 slice Preserved turnip (about 80-100 gm) - chopped finely


• 130 gm Dried shrimps - chopped


• 250 gm Rice flour


• 1 tbsp Wheaten flour


• 800 ml Warm water


• 3 cloves Garlic - smashed and minced


• 1 tsp Five spice powder


• Salt and pepper to taste


• Oil for frying

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Garnishing

• Sauted dried shrimps (half from the basic ingredient)


• Sauted mince meat


• Sauted preserved turnip


• Toasted peanuts - lightly pounded/chopped


• 1 stalk Spring onion - finely cut


• 2 tbps Fried shallot


• 1 Red chili - optional

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Methods

1. Steam the diced yam for about 30 minutes or until soft but still firm.


2. Heat up wok/frying pan with some oil and fry the chopped dried shrimps till fragrant. Lift up and keep aside.


3. Using the same frying pan, add a little oil and dry fry the chopped preserved turnip till fragrant. Lift up and keep aside.


4. In the same frying pan, heat up some more oil and saute the minced garlic till light golden and add in the minced meat. Fry till cook.


5. Lift up half the fried minced pork and keep aside.


6. Stir the remaining minced pork in the frying pan, add in half the dried shrimps, half of the preserved turnip and the steamed diced yam with the five spice powder, salt and pepper until well mixed.


7. Mean while, in a big mixing bowl, add in the rice flour and wheaten flour and stir in the warm water until you get a good and smooth batter.


8. Add in the yam mix and stir till well mixed.


9. Pour batter into a greased pan (I used a 8" springform pan lined with banana leaf) and steam for 40-50 minutes or until firm.


10. Remove the pan from steamer (you might get a little wet top but not to worry) and let it cool on the table for 5 minutes.


11. Sprinkle all the garnishing in this order - mince pork, dried shrimps, preserved turnip, spring onion, peanuts and fried shallot.


12. Serve when it has cooled down to room temperature.

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Peppered Pig Stomach with Chicken Feet Soup

I am not a fan of inwards of any kinds to be honest as I find them pretty disgusting. When I was younger, my mom always makes me take pig's liver or chicken livers as according to her could help me replenish my blood. Each time she served me those, I'll sit in front of the bowl as long as I could and has to force myself to finish them.

However, it is entirely different when it comes to pig stomach! A part which my mom said is one of the hardest to clean as if it is not cleansed properly it will have a stinky smell. I've never cleaned one before since I've never cook any when I was in Malaysia. Either my mom or my MIL will do the job and I am the lucky soul who will savour the end product.

My favourite is the black pepper corn pig stomach soup which is one of the best soup I've ever drank. My MIL often boil a big pot with lots of goodies during Chinese New Year. This is also a must have during my confinements.

When I had my #3 in Melbourne, my mom boiled this for me as well and from there I knew the butchers here actually cleansed it real well that we don't even need to do much cleaning after that! For that, I boiled a few times after my confinement since I really dig this soup! :D

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What I really like is by adding some chicken feet and the soup will go all gooey from the collagen. It is supposed to be really good for health!

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Ingredients

• 1 Pig stomach (pre-boil and cut into strips of 1"x3")


• 500 gm Chicken feet


• 2 Skinless Chicken Maryland (chop into 4 sections)


• 100 gm Lotus seeds (soaked)


• 80 gm Gingko nuts


• 2 sticks Carrots (cut into chunks)


• 1½ tsp Black/White peppercorns


• 3 L Water


• Salt to taste

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Methods

1. In a medium saucepan, boil some water and pre-boil pig stomach, chicken feet and Chicken Maryland, strained and keep aside.


2. In a large stockpot (I used a 10 L pressure cooker) fill with water and let it come to a boil. Add in all the pre-boiled items, carrots, lotus seeds and gingko nuts.


3. Gently cracked the peppercorns and dump into the pot and let it boil on high heat. Then turn to low heat and slowly simmer for at least an hour.


4. Served with warm rice.

Bacon Fried Rice

Every now and then I will cook fried rice as I always have left over rice from hubby's lunch box. I tend to cook a little extra just in case he has enough to bring to work the next morning. When ever he can't fit them into his lunch box, I will fried them for lunch so I can cook a new batch for dinner.

What I have been cooking the past week when I have the extra rice is bacon fried rice since I bought a huge pack of bacon and I am trying to finish them as fast as I could. Can't be eating everyday so maybe every 3 days or so depending if I have the other ingredients with me. These fried rice is so nice to go with a cup of herbal tea :)

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Fried rice is one of the best one pot meals around and kids just love them! Mine do! Especially my girl who can be very fussy with food at times but she will eat fried rice. Probably I add in loads of ingredients! :D


Ingredients

• 1 bowl Cooked rice (from ¾ to 1 cup of rice)


• 6-7 rasher Bacon (cut into small strips)


• 1 stalk Spring onion (chop)


• 2 Eggs


• ½ Onion (chop coarsely)


• 1tbsp Garlic (minced)


• Salt and pepper to taste

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Methods

1. Heat up a non stick wok (or HCP if you have one!) and fry the bacon strips till fragrant (best when they are a little brownish on the sides). Lift up and set aside.


2. Using the oil from the bacon, saute the minced garlic then the onion till brown and fragrant, add in the eggs and slowly break them and mix them around. When the eggs are about 70% cooked (with some wet portions to coat the rice) toss in the cooked rice and stir till well mixed with the eggs.


3. Add in the chopped spring onion, stir till well mixed before adding in the bacon strips. Fry till the rice is loose and not clumped together. A good fried rice should have each grain on its own unless coated with egg. :)


4. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Notes

It is best to use freshly cooked rice than over night rice. Make sure the rice are dry if you decided to cook just before frying them.

Almond Cookies with a Crunch

Apart from baking pineapple tarts, I will definitely bake some almond cookies for Chinese New Year. Previously when I was still in Penang, I will normally get the premix from the local baking supplies shop which tasted very good. Now that I am in Melbourne, everything will have to be from scratch.

I checked the net and found a recipe but I tweaked it as I already have some raw almonds with me so I did not want to buy the almond meal separately. I just ground the almond myself. Also, I added some roasted sesame seeds for the extra flavor and crunch.

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These cookies are so addictive that I can't stop snacking on them! Since it used corn or sunflower oil, I guess it is has less guilt compared to those made of butter! Okie... I am just trying to console myself :P

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Ingredients

• 400 gm Plain flour


• 250 gm Icing sugar


• 2½ tsp Baking powder


• 1½ tsp Baking soda


• ½ tsp Salt

(sieve the above 3 times)

• 175 gm Chopped almonds (almond nibs)


• 180 gm Ground almond (I have mind with the skin on)


• 300 ml Corn/Sunflower oil


• ¼ tsp Almond extract (mix into the oil)


• Toasted sesame seeds


• 1 Egg (for egg wash)

Methods

1. Toast almonds on a frying pan on small fire till lightly brown, cooled and chop/ground accordingly.


2. In a large mixing bowl mix the sifted ingredients and mix with the ground almond and chopped almonds.


3. Add about ½ of the oil into the flour mix and rub into it to resembles bread crumbs. Then add in the remaining oil and knead until the dough is well incorporated.


4. Take about 12gm of the dough (I used a digital scale) and roll it into a ball, dip one end into the sesame seeds and let it coat half the cookie dough, gently roll to get the sesame seeds to stick onto dough. Flatten the cookies to about 1cm thickness.


5. Place rolled/flatten cookies onto lined baking tray with a 1.5 cm gap. Brush the first coat of egg wash onto surface and let it dry for 15 mins before brushing the 2nd coat.


6. Bake cookies in preheated oven of 160°C for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack and before storing in air tight container.

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Note

I've tried another batch using just 280ml of oil and it is a lot more easy to shape.