Stir fried Scallops

This dish smells so fragrant and delicious and adding cashew nuts give it more crunch!

I fried with colourful vegetables baby corn, some red capsicum and shredded carrots.

Recipe 

1 packet of frozen large scallops from NTUC thaw according to instructions

Baby corn 3 pcs cut into small sections

1 /6 of a red capsicum diced

Some shredded carrots

3 shiitake mushrooms sliced 

A handful of salted cashew nuts

Some minced garlic

Sprinkle of salt 

Sprinkle of pepper 

About 3 tablespoon oil

Gravy  - mixed all together

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cornflour mixed 

2 tablespoon water

Method

Defrost the scallops and sprinkle salt n pepper to marinate about 10 minutes

Heat oil and fry garlic till fragrant push the garlic aside 

Add in all the cut vegetables

Stirfry about 2 minutes

Add in the scallops n stirfry about 1 minute

Add in the gravy  and cashews and fry till start to boil and thickened

Serve with rice

Today I did this dish again with only 9 scallops and with more gravy 

I used yellow n green capsicum with 2 mushrooms 

Sea Cucumber with Bak Kut Soup

I received sea cucumbers from my friend and saved them for Chinese New Year reunion dinner tonight. My mother in law helped to cook this dish.

Recipe

Some pork ribs (bak kut teh type)

3 sea cucumbers 

Sugar about 1 tablespoon

Salt about 1 teaspoon

Dark soy sauce to taste

Kikkoman soy sauce to taste

White pepper to taste 

Some gouqizi 

Some sliced ginger about 5 pcs

A few garlic about 6 pcs skin on

Method

1.Clean the sea cucumber by removing the underside. Rinse n cut into thirds.

2.Parboil the bak kut.

3. Add some oil to deep soup pot and fry the garlic and ginger 

4. Add in bak kut n stir fry

5. Add in the sea cucumber and stir fry with salt, sugar, pepper.

6. Put in enough water to cover the ribs and sea cucumbers.

7. Add in both soy sauce.

8. Boil for 1 hour. 

Taste and adjust if necessary 

Sea cucumbers

Rub underside to remove dirt

Rinse clean and cut into smaller pieces

Pork ribs parboiled 

Fry garlic n ginger

Fry the ribs

Add in the sea cucumbers

Cover with water n boil

Boiling 

Done!!!

Enjoy your delicious soup!

Almond London Cookies

These delicious cookies were on my to do list for ages but I was always skeptical when it comes to adding chocolate as we live in hot and humid Singapore.

This time I think it worked as I used cooking chocolate. I left my cookies out for about 2 hours and the the chocolate coating is still good.

I followed this recipe http://messywitchen.com/recipe/cookies/almond-london/

With reduced chocolate as I didn't cover the whole cookie

Recipe

125gm unsalted butter slightly softened

60 gm icing sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

160 gm plain flour

100gm ground almond

About 40 pcs of toasted almonds 

Medium size paper cups 

Hershey baking bar chocolate 

Some rainbow sprinkles

Method

1. Cream the butter and icing sugar just use your hand whisk. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix well.

2. Mix in the plain flour and ground almond to form a soft dough.

3. Use a teaspoon n scoop a rounded scoop of dough. Flatten in palm of hand n place one almond on it. Wrap the almond and shape into a log shape. 

Place on paper lined trays and bake at 160 C for 20 minutes. Cool the cookies before chocolate coating.

4. Spoon the chocolate n spread on the surface and add rainbow sprinkles. Place inside the paper cups n put onto a tray.

Do the same for the rest of the cookies. Chill until chocolate sets.

Keep them in airtight container. Put baking paper between layers.

Yummy treats for adults and children

Almonds, butter n icing sugar, egg, vanilla essence, plain flour n ground almond mixed in

Hershey'sbaking chocolate

Melt the chocolate in the microwave oven

Use a teaspoon for one pc of cookie

Place almond in the flattened dough

Cookies ready to bake

After baking

Before chilling

Use paper cups this size

Enjoy!!!

Pineapple Tarts open faced

These is my first time doing open faced tarts. I did a comparison between a few online recipes and decided to follow 

http://annieliciousfood.blogspot.sg/2014/01/melt-in-your-mouth-pineapple-tarts.html?m=1

Who did modifications to The Little Teochew recipe

I used SCS unsalted butter for this recipe  and Bake King pineapple paste.

Roll the pineapples about weight 6gm before you prepare the pastry 

I used only half the recipe as I already used some pineapple paste for my enclosed tarts

Recipe (halved)

200 gm plain flour

25 gm corn flour

1/4 tsp fine salt 

140 gm unsalted butter cut into cubes

1.5 egg yolks beaten 

1.5 tbsp ice cold water

3 tbsp icing sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Pastry glaze - mix 1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Cut the butter into cubes n keep in the fridge

2. Sift the flour, icing sugar and salt together.

3. Using a fork,rub the cubed cold butter into the flour until it looks like find bread crumbs. It will take a while maybe I should buy a pastry cutter for future use!

4. Beat together the egg yolks, cold water n vanilla essence and add into the butter flour mixture. Using finger tips gently coax the crumbs into one large dough ball. Do not knead the dough. Stop once all the crumbs come together.

5. Divide the dough into 2 and wrap with cling wrap and chill in fridge for 10 minutes.

6. Take one dough n roll between grease proof paper into a thickness about 4-5 mm. Don't roll too thin if not the pastry will break easier after baking.

7. Prepare tray with baking paper. For easier removal of cookies.

8. Dip the cookie cutter into flour and cut the dough. Remove and place n prepared tray.

9. Use the pattern mould and press in the cut out dough.

10. Repeat and place all the tarts about 1.5 cm apart. Glaze all the tarts entire surface.

11. Bake for 5 minutes at 175 degree celcius. 

12. Remove and glaze only the rims. Place the pineapple ball in the centre. You can decorate the top of the pineapple ball with pastry n glaze.

13. Bake for about 12 mins more till the pastry looks golden brown 

14. Cool the tarts in the wire rack and keep in airtight container 

I find the tart shells a bit flaky and even though I used ready made pineapple paste, the jam still tastes good.

Bread crumb like 

Dough is ready to chill

Cutter

Tart shells

After baking

Enjoy the Chinese New Year holidays!

Chocolate cake

This chocolate cake recipe is by Margaret Fulton a well known Australian cookery writer which I obtained from a children's book. 

I made the chocolate version and it is has a very rich chocolate taste and it is moist too!

You can double the portion and make a layered cake as the single layer is not a tall cake.

Recipe

125 gm butter softened ( I used unsalted)

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

Method

Grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin

I used my 6 inch cake tin

Preheat oven to 170 c

Use the electric beater to beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla till pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time n beat until well combined.

I used a spatula to fold in the flour and milk until just combined.

Transfer the mixture into the tin and spread evenly and bake for 45-50 minutes. 

I used 40 mins.

At about 20 minutes , I tented the cake with a piece of aluminum foil in case the cake gets too dark on the surface.

Use a toothpick or skewer and insert in the centre to check doneness. If it comes out clean it is baked.

Leave the cake in tin for ten minutes and then remove the cake from tin to cool on wire rack. Remove the paper wrappings also.

In addition, I made marzipan roses n hearts for decoration as I made it into a Valentine's Day cake.

Butter cream icing recipe ( I haven't tried)

125 gm butter softened 

1/2 cups icing sugar sifted

1/2 tablespoons milk

Use an electric mixer beat the butter until very pale.

Add the icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of the milk n beat until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining milk if needed for consistency.

To make chocolate icing, add 1/3 cup cocoa to the icing sugar.

Before bake

After bake 

Marzipan paste

The following shows how to make the roses 

1. Make colored marzipan and cut out 3 pcs of circles. Place in overlapping style.

2. Roll from the edge towards you

3. Roll until the end

4. Finished rolling

5. Cut using a thread 

Roses formed 

Stick the roses onto green marzipan leaves.

Stick to cake using apricot jam glaze.

Enjoy Valentine's  Day everyone!