RECIPE Apple Galette

 Taken from cook kafemaru on YouTube 

https://youtu.be/FjmAExrKokE?si=paaU-Ug7DXhJuGEr 

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【Ingredients】  

★100g  Bread flour

★2g Baking powder

★20g    Sugar

★larger pinch of salt 

100ml  Heavy Whipping cream

1 Apple

15g Granulated sugar

15g Butter 

【Directions】

① Put the ingredients marked with ★ in a bowl and mix well. Add heavy cream and mix lightly.

② transfer to a work surface.

Using a dough scraper, gather the dough and press it together from the top to form a rectangle. Once it comes together, cut it in half and stack one half on top of the other, then press it down to flatten. Repeat this process 5 times.

③ Roll out the dough to a 22cm size. Place the dough on a cooking sheet. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

④ Peel the apples and cut them into quarters. Slice them to a thickness of 3mm. Leave a 2cm gap at the edge of the dough and arrange the sliced apples.

⑤ Fold the edge of the dough,  while making pleats.

⑥ Sprinkle sugar over the apples and place diced butter in some places.

⑦ Bake at 190°C in a preheated oven for 22 minutes, and it's done♪ The edge of the dough should turn a nice golden brown color.

RECIPE - Napa Pork Meatballs

 

4 January 2024 

First post of the new year  

Went to market and got some minced pork from my new butcher, I chose a younger guy cos the old fella I used to patronise passed away very suddenly. I felt sad I had to say goodbye only in my heart. 

Wasn’t sure what to make of it, so I seasoned it a little n stuck it in the fridge. Then I saw an IG reel about someone’s grandpa’s famous meatballs…. n so I adapted it. The recipe had chopped ginger n garlic n spring onion and I think u were supposed to make soup with the Napa cabbage leaves.

Here is what I did instead 

400g Minced Pork (weight is guesstimated as I wasn’t paying attention) 

3-4 garlic cloves minced 

3-4 slices of fresh ginger, minced 

1 tsp white miso paste 

2 tbsp cognac 

2 huge outer leaves Napa cabbage - stem diced fine in to meat, leaves roughly chopped for soup 

2-4 Tbsp of chopped spring onion - adjust to taste 

Usual seasoning - sesame oil, salt, oyster sauce, sugar, pepper

I’m not sure if it makes a difference, I fried about 10-15 slices of ginger julienne strips til crisp, diced them and added to pork then balled the pork and fried them in the ginger oil. 

Placed them in a casserole lined with cabbage leaves and shiro dashi. It just very nicely made two layers. Instead of placing it over the fire, I put it in the oven  I might change to putting it in the stove. We will find out  

Update: there wasn’t as much soup as I thought there might be, and the flavour was too intense. I added water and made it a broth. 

Next time I shall add more cabbage leaves/stalk, and put the casserole over the fire. Need to add water too for the soup/broth portion. 

RECIPE Salted Egg Cornflakes

 

14 November 2023 

Salted Egg Yolk Cornflakes 

160g cornflakes 

50g of butter 

2 tbsp coconut oil 

1-2 packet curry leaves (pluck out leaf) 

2 chilli padi (thinly sliced)

1 packet Knorr Golden Salted Egg powder (110g) 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar 

1 tbsp milk powder 

Heat up butter and oil (medium hot heat), add chilli padi, then toss curry leaves and add the salted egg powder, and then add cornflakes (does not have to be pre-roasted for crispiness)

Turn heat to low, Add in the salt sugar and milk powder to season and turn off heat. 

Transfer to lined baking sheet, bake for 10 minutes, take tray out to stir and turn it around and bake for 6 more minutes, turn off heat for 2 minutes, take out tray to cool on rack. 

RECIPE Soup - Leek, Fish & Pork

Fry thin sliced ginger (2-3 slices) & garlic (4-5 cloves) in hot oil. Add in coriander roots. 

Add thinly sliced leek. (1 piece) 

Add some thin slices of Shitake mushroom (4-5 pieces) 

Deglaze pan with Harvey’s, add stock or water (this time I used dashi concentrate) 

Boil then simmer about 20-30 minutes. Remove the coriander roots 

Cook quickly the pork shabu in soup (shimmering but not boiling) cook til 90% done and set aside on a clean dish. 

Velveteen the fish slices (marinade with sesame oil and soya sauce) - dip in cornflour slurry. 

Bring soup to boil, toss fish inside and let boil for 2-3 minutes and turn off heat. 

RECIPE Gingerbread House

 🍪 26 October 2023, Thursday 

This cookie is stable enough to build a house out of, is not too sweet and lightly scented with ginger and cinnamon. 

Recipe for one gingerbread house 18 x 18cm (as in the picture)

The method for this is how you would make pate sucree. I make mine in my Tokit (similar to a Thermomix). Just dump the ingredients in- measure them directly in to the bowl, no need to wash extra measuring bowls! Put the lid on and process - in less than a minute, it is done!

RECIPE:

Preheat oven 180 °C, bake at 170 °C for 20-23min 

Into the Tokit goes:

380g cake flour

80g icing sugar 

20g corn flour

The following: 

1/2tsp cinnamon powder 

1/2tsp ginger powder 

Or 

3g mixed spice powder 

Make a well / doughnut shape trench for

1 egg

160g unsalted butter, cold 

Process in the Tokit at 

Speed 6.0-6.5 for 10 seconds, 

Then 5.0 for 20-45 seconds. 

The flour, sugar, spices, & egg - measured directly in the bowl. 

In goes the butter. Still cold. 

Check the progress halfway, I like to stop it around this stage, just slightly before it turns into a ball of dough. 

Turn it out onto baking paper, roll it flat and chill or freeze it. 

Cut them out to desired shape and size. 

10g egg for egg wash 

Bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes. 

Icing for building the frame: 

1g gelatin powder 

4cc cold water 

Bloom the gelatin and melt it to liquid 

100g Powdered Sugar 

1g egg white powder 

Add the melted gelatin, beat with hand mixer, add

10cc water til texture is correct. 

Icing for decoration: 

200g Icing Sugar 

4g egg white powder 

Sieve this 

30cc water 

Stir in to above in 5-6 additions, adjusting water level accordingly. 

Add colouring as per requirement and stir. 

Less water is harder icing for outline, 

More water til flowy is for flooding inside with icing 

RECIPE Homemade Udon

🍜 26 October 2023, Thursday 

My boy loves udon. My husband and I, not a fan. 

I had to try making it at home, and because it has a little tapioca flour, the texture is QQ, my boy loves this. 

It was gotten off a Chinese/Taiwanese blog I cannot recall which  

Handmade Udon: (1 portion) 

140g water

5g salt 

Stir to dissolve the salt in the water. 

50g Tapioca flour 

250g AP flour 

Measure this in a bowl and drizzle in the salt water in 2 batches. Adjust the water amount accordingly. Stir to mix into shaggy dough, rest 30 min. 

Knead dough til shiny (might take 8 min) 

Cling wrap and rest 60 min. 

Roll to 3mm thick, slice 3mm wide. Making sure to flour it well. They tend to stick. 

To cook: 

In a pot, bring some water to boil, add salt. 

Cook the strands of udon til they float, remove and dunk in cool/ice water. 

Drizzle oil (sesame or garlic or onion) and stir through, eat immediately, when cooled and kept, strands would stick. Reheating it would make it lose the QQ texture.

Uncooked dough/noodles can be kept in fridge for 1-2 days,(possible to vacuum pack them too) they might stick, or can be kept in freezer for up to 4 days. I decided to stick them in my dehydrator. 

Overnight they dried up and hardened. I had them too long this time and had to break them in order to fit in my container. Will make shorter strands next time. I haven’t yet cooked them from dry. Will try next week - hope it works and the texture maintains! 

UPDATE: I just cooked the dehydrated udon. Nope. The texture changed. It still received the thumbs up from the boy but I feel it was nicer when it was freshly made and cooked. 

Might try the freezer method next. 

Bon Appetit!! 😋 

RECIPE Foccacia (that brings me straight to Cinque Terre)

 🍞 26 October 2023, Thursday 

I absolutely love this recipe I found on YouTube from Natasha’s Kitchen. 

Years ago when I was at Cinque Terre, I had the absolutest most yummiest foccacia. I am not a fan of focaccia and never really ate it but I was a convert after having that one at Cinque Terre. I don’t figure I would be back so soon to Cinque Terre so my tummy was rather heart broken 💔 

However, I found this recipe online and the picture looked good so I decided to try and I love it!! I bake it occasionally and I reminisce my time at Cinque Terre and look forward to going back one day, but with not so much urgency anymore 🤣 

Here is the handwritten recipe, I worked out some proportions.

The one I usually like to bake is the x1/2 portion. The 1/3 portion is good for one person and it leaves u wanting more🤣 

Preheat oven 230 °C (takes about 20min to 45min) 

Bake for 25 Min 

1/2 portion: 

Pan size - square (well oiled) 

180g water (40 °C) 

3.5g yeast 

2.5g honey 

Mix these to activate yeast. Rest 5 min til foamy and bubbly 

235g AP flour 

3.5g salt 

Measure these in a glass bowl, slowly add the water in and stir to mix into shaggy dough 

7.5g oil (olive) 

Knead oil in to shaggy dough 

For visual on steps can check out Natasha’s kitchen on YouTube. 

Rest the dough for 30 min 

Perform stretch and fold 4 times (30 min interval) 

After 4th S&F, transfer dough to well oiled baking pan, coat the dough in oil, 

Rest 15 min and then stretch to fit in pan. 

Proof for 45-60 min. 

Make the topping: 

2tbsp olive oil 

2tbsp water 

2 cloves garlic 

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp chopped rosemary (2 sprigs) 

Tap down on fluffy dough gently with fingertips splayed open and drizzle topping and 1tsp flaky salt, and send to bake at 230 °C for 25 min. 

Bon Appetit!