No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

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Chocolate Almond Muffins ~ 巧克力杏仁玛芬

These healthy Chocolate Almond Muffins are grain free and serve as a perfect breakfast for the whole family or to snack on at any time of the day. They are moist, soft, full of chocolate flavour and bursting with chocolate chips with added crunch from the almond slivers. Chocolate Almond Muffins ~ 巧克力杏仁玛芬 Ingredients 188 gm plain flour 45 gm cocoa powder 1 Tbsp cornstarch 130 gm caster sugar 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp salt 2 'L' eggs 1 cup buttermilk (milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to make 1 cup) 1/2 cup oil 1 tsp vanilla 50 gm chocolate chips Almond slivers to sprinkle Method Sift flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in sugar, whisk to combine. In another bowl, whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix just to combine. Overmixing will make tough muffins. Divide the batter between the paper lined muffin pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and

Soy Sauce Chicken ~ 豉油鸡

This is a very common dish but delicious and appetising. The method of cooking this dish is less labour intensive and does not incur frying. I marinated the whole legs of chicken overnight which made them more tasty and the sauce is the essence of this dish. You can also throw in some hard boiled eggs and with a veggie dish on the side, you can serve this with plain white rice or plain congee. Soy Sauce Chicken ~ 豉油鸡 Ingredients 2 whole leg of chicken, deboned 3 cloves garlic, shopped 1.1/2 cup water 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 tsp dark soy sauce 1.1/2 tsp Shaoxing wine 1.1/2 Tbsp rock sugar 1 tsp cornflour + 2 tsps water to thicken White part of spring onion White sesame seeds lightly toasted (optional) Method Season the chicken with the chopped garlic, light and dark soy sauces for a few hours or overnight. In a pan, boil the water with the white part of the spring onion and add in the seasoned chicken,. Add in the rock sugar and let the chicken simmer till tender and cooked. Let

Marble Chocolate Matcha Bread (Tangzhong method) ~ (汤种大理石面包）

Looks like I'm hooked on making bread and trying to 'perfect' the recipe through trial and error. Needs a lot of practice and I've tried bread making using the tanzhong (aka 'water roux') method with the help of the breadmaker. Ever since the breadmaker died on me, I have switched to using the stand mixer to try the tangzhong method. Bread made using the tangzhong method is soft and fluffy and here I have made a Chocolate and Matcha marble loaf. Marble Chocolate Matcha Bread (Tangzhong method) ~ (汤种大理石面包） Ingredients for Tangzhong (aka 'water roux') 25 gm high protein flour 120 ml water Method Mix the flour with water and cook on low flame till it forms a paste and lines can be drawn. Cover with cling wrap with the wrap touching on the surface of the paste to prevent it from drying. Let cool or preferably chill in fridge overnight. Bring it to room temperature before using. Ingredients for Main dough 300 gm high protein flour 1 tsp dry yeast

Mild Tangy Braised Pork Shoulder ~ 酸红烧猪肩

This is a mild gingery and tangy dish, not too spicy and with the correct amount of sweetness to whet your appetite. This a very appetising dish as I like to cook it till semi-dry so that the sauce can be nicely infused into the meat to make it more tasty. Mild Tangy Braised Pork Shoulder ~ 酸红烧猪肩 Ingredients 650 gm pork shoulder, cut into bite size 4 pips of garlic, chopped 3 slices ginger, chopped 4 dried chillies 2 pieces tamaraind skin 1 Tbap dark soy sauce 1.1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp brown sugar or rock sugar and to taste Method Soak the dried chillies in hot water to soften. With some oil in a pan saute the chopped garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add in the pork shoulder, stir fry, add in the dried chillies and tamarind skin. Add in the dark and light soy sauces, sugar and enough water to cover the meat. Once it starts to boil, switch to medium flame, cover with lid and let it simmer till the pork is tender. Cook till semi-dry and test for taste. Dish up and serv

Moist Carrot Banana Walnut Cupcake ~ 胡萝卜香蕉核桃杯子蛋糕

These hearty cupcakes are packed with grated carrots, crunchy walnuts and soft mashed bananas. They are full of texture, taste like carrot cake but yummier because of the addition of bananas which makes them soft and moist. These cuppies are made with oil instead of butter which is more 'heart-healthy' and is an easy grab-and-go at breakfast. Moist Carrot Banana Walnut Cupcake ~ 胡萝卜香蕉核桃杯子蛋糕 Ingredients 158 gm plain flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup oil 150 gm brown sugar 2 'L' eggs 100 gm over ripe bananas (mashed) 148 gm shredded carrots 50 gm walnuts, slightly toasted and chopped Method Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Whisk oil, brown sugar and eggs. Stir in mashed bananas, vanilla and shredded carrots, mix well. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add in chopped walnuts and mix till just combined. Divide batter evenly into a lightly greased muffin pan. Bake in

Quick Fix Kaya ~ 十五分钟咖椰

I have blogged 'Kaya' or Coconut egg jam and 'Pandan Kaya' before but it was indeed a tedious job as it entails a lot of standing and stirring for long hours in order to achieve the golden and creamy kaya. I was very eager to try out the Easy Kaya Recipe when I stumbled upon Bake with Paws blog. Compared to the authentic, traditional way of making kaya, this is truly a Godsend recipe. The trick is to only use whole egg yolks with no trace of egg whites plus coconut cream and palm sugar. For more details regarding this 'short cut' kaya recipe, do take some time to read 'here'. Quick Fix Kaya ~ 十五分钟咖椰 ( adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 3 'L'egg yolks 30 gm cane sugar or granulated sugar 30 gm gula melaka (palm sugar), chopped fine 150 gm Kara coconut cream 4 Pandan (screwpine) leaves Method Separate the egg yolks from the whites and try to remove as much egg whites as possible. Or you can sieve out the whites. Traces

Peanut Butter Buns ~ 花生酱面包

I made these Peanut Butter Buns after watching 'Qiong cooking' video on youtube. I didn't follow her recipe to the 'T' because her recipe called for 190 ml ice water and I only used 150 ml as it was sufficient to moisten and knead the dough. I didn't cut the pieces of dough into 3 and braid them but instead just roll them up and place them in the greased muffin pan. The buns had a sugary crunchy crust and they were delicious when eaten warm. I freezed 4 buns, defrosted and heated them up in the oven toaster the next day. They were good as if freshly baked. Great to go with a cup of your favourite hot beverage. Peanut Butter Buns ~ 花生酱面包 (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 300 gm High Protein or Bread flour 1 tsp dry yeast 1/2 tsp salt 20 gm milk powder 30 gm caster sugar 150 ml ice water (may need a bit more or a bit less) 30 gm softened butter Peanut butter, crunchy or creamy 1 egg plus 2 tsp water Raw sugar to sprinkle (optional) Metho