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

I had my first taste of Cordycep flower soup in a Chinese restaurant and didn't hesitate to ask the waitress what were those curly, twisty, crunchy and chewy 'strings' in the soup.  Her reply was that they were Cordycep flowers (scientific name Cordycep Militaris), a sort of woody cultivated mushrooms. According to traditional Chinese medicine, Cordycep flowers do have some nutritional health benefits, such as nourishing the lungs, improve sleep, reduce fatigue just to name a few.

After cooking, you may notice that the soup has a hint of orangey colour.

Cordycep Flower Soup ~  Confinement food ~  猪骨虫草花汤
Ingredients
25 gm dried cordyceps flowers, rinsed, 450 gm soft pork bones for soup 10 seedless red dates 10 gm goji berries 20 gm yuk chook 2.1/2 lt water seasalt to taste
Method Blanch the pork bones in hot water, drain, rinse and set aside Boil 2.1//2 lt water in a pot and once boiling, add in the dried cordycep flowers,  red dates, yuk chook and pork bones.  Bring to the b…

These delightful light-as-air cakes are based on French Financiers and are super easy to make.  I used the basic recipe but adjusted the ingredients for variations.   These dainty cakes can be served as afternoon tea or just with a cup of hot tea or an after-dinner dessert.





Lemony Choc Chip Friands  ~  柠檬巧克力费南雪
Ingredients
80 gm melted butter120 gm icing sugar60 gm almond meal (ground almond)50 gm plain flour, sifted4 egg whites45 gm choc chips2 tsp lemon juice (optional)1/2 tsp baking powdericing sugar to dustMethod Sift flour, icing sugar into a mixing bowl.  Add in almond meal, mix well and make a well in the centre of the mixture.Lightly whisk the egg whites till frothy.  Pour the egg whites, lemon juice into the mixture, followed by the melted butter.  Lightly stir to form a soft batter.Scoop the mixture into the greased and flour dusted Friand pan.Bake in a preheated oven @  180 deg.C for 15 to 20 mins.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.Let cool and dust with icing sugar …

When I saw the post of Prune Butter Cake from Ann of anncoojournal, I told myself that I have to give this a try as the bottle of Rum has been sitting comfortably in my pantry for a long time.  True to what Ann said, the kitchen was filled with sweet fragrance when the cake was baking in the oven.  The texture may be a bit dense but it was moist and soft.  Tastes good served warm or cooled.






Prune Butter Cake  ~   西梅牛油蛋糕 Ingredients 200 gm butter160 gm caster sugar230 gm plain flour4 large eggs (lightly beaten)2 tsp lemon juice2.1/2 Tbsp Rum1.1/2 tsp vanilla1.1/3 tsp baking powder2.1/2 Tbsp milk120 gm dried pitted prunes3.1/2 Tbsp Rum1 Tbsp sugarMethod

Soak the prunes with Rum and sugar for about an hour.  Simmer over low  heat for 5 mins. till the prunes plump up.   Remove 8 eight pieces for decoration and snip or cut up the rest.  Add in 2 Tbsp sifted flour to absorb moisture.   Set aside.Line the base of an 8 inch springform pan and grease and flour the sides of the pan.Sift the plain …

Breastfeeding mothers need a healthy diet and breastfeeding makes many mothers extra thirsty and therefore drinking a lot of fluids help to prevent dehydration.  Fluid intake is associated with breast milk production and green papaya is one of the nutritious fruit that can be used in a soup or in salads.
That said, consuming green papaya helps to increase the production of oxytocin which ultimately increases the production of milk.




Green papaya snow fungus pork rib soup ~ 青木瓜雪耳猪骨汤 (坐月汤)
Ingredients
800 gm green papaya, remove skin and seeds15 gm snow fungus, soak till it plumps up, snip off the hard ends450 gm pork ribs12 seedless red dates2.1/2 lt water1/2 tsp crushed pepper cornsseasalt to tasteMethod Peel off the skin from the green papaya, remove the seeds and cut into wedges.Blanch the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water, rinse well.In a pot, bring the water to a boil, add in the red dates, peppercorn and pork ribs.  Let it simmer for about an hour.Add in the papaya wedges into the …

This Pandan Ogura Cake is soft, moist and light and the texture resembles that of a chiffon cake but baked in a normal cake pan.  There are many variations of ogura cake with different flavours and I've baked with Greentea and Orange flavour before.





Pandan Ogura Cake  ~  班兰相思蛋糕
Ingredients (A)
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp salt
65 ml canola oil
90 ml pandan juice
70 gm plain flour
(B)
5 egg whites
70 gm caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Method
In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and whole egg till well combined.  Add in oil, pandan juice and salt, whisk thoroughly.  Sift in flour, mix well.In a clean bowl, whisk  egg whites till foamy, add in cream of tartar and gradually add in   sugar.   Whisk till stiff peaks form but not dry.Fold in 1/3 meringue into the egg mixture, mix well and then pour this mixture into the   remaining meringue.   Mix well.  Pour batter into a lined 8 inch square pan.  Tap the pan a bit to remove air bubbles.Steam bake in a preheated oven @ 150 deg.C for 60 mins.…

This is a very simple chicken dish, easy to prepare, good to serve at a meal and also suitable as a confinement food for new mothers.   The four ingredients are of course, a free-range chicken, seasalt, Tang Gui 当归 (Angelica Sinensis)and Bei Qi  北芪 (Astragalus Membranaceus).  


Homemade Salted Chicken ~  Confinement food ~   盐烤鸡 Ingredients 1 kg free-range chicken 3 tsp ground seasalt 6 piecesTong Gui 6 pieces Bei Qi
Method Tear up the pieces of Tong Gui and Bei Qi Clean up the chicken, pat dry and rub seasalt all over the chicken. Mix up the herbs and put into the cavity of the chicken Marinate for a few hours, preferably overnight, refrigerated Remove from fridge, leave at room temperature Place the chicken into a rice cooker with a 4 mm forged thick pot Cook till chicken is tender using the 'Cook' function

This Kaya ~ Coconut Egg Jam is creamy, smooth and velvety, unlike the grainy Pandan Kaya version which I posted 'here'.   Most people would normally have their kaya with bread, either steamed or toasted but at times I like to snack on crackers with a spread of kaya.




Kaya ~ Coconut Egg Jam ~ 焦糖加椰
Ingredients
4 large eggs (around 68 gm with shell)150 gm caster sugar200 ml coconut milk (I used 'Ayam' brand)5 pandan/screwpine leaves, knotted30 gm gula melaka/palm sugar, caramalised (optional)Method Mix and stir the eggs with sugar, then add in the coconut milk, mix well.Strain the mixture into another big bowl.Heat up some water in a pot on slow fire and place the bowl of egg mixture on top.   Make sure that the bowl does not touch the simmering water.Add in the knotted pandan leaves and keep stirring the mixture with a whisk or spatula for about 30 mins.  The mixture will thicken a bit.  Let rest and stir every other 10 mins. till mixture is creamy and smooth.Meanwhile, melt…