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

This matcha red bean chiffon cake has a slightly bitter taste of matcha, which perfectly complements the sweetness of the red beans.   The beans provide a touch of texture in an overall lightweight and soft cake.   I was a bit disappointed that all the beans sank to the bottom of the cake but their appearance on the top, once the cake is inverted, is surprisingly decorative - how about that, a self-embellishing cake! It's one thing to enjoy cake after dinner, but when that cake is homemade and absolutely delicious, you've just definitely upped your game! Matcha Red Bean Chiffon Cake  ~   抹茶 红豆 戚风蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' with modification) Ingredients (A) 5 egg yolks 40 gm caster sugar 50 ml oil 100 ml milk 120 gm superfine or plain flour 100 gm cooked honey red beans + some flour to absorb moisture 1.1/2 Tbsp matcha powder + 1.1/2 Tbsp hot water (B) 5 egg whites 80 gm caster sugar 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar (C)  How to prepare red beans. 120 gm red beans, wash a

  During  this Covid 19 pandemic, I notice that there are many shops mushrooming in my housing area selling frozen food, meat and an assortment of sauces, noddles etc.  I happened to walk in to one very near to my house and I was looking for Korean vermicelli which was not available.  Instead the salesgirl introduced me to this Sweet Potato Flat Noodles, from Fujian, China which she said was a new arrival.  To help and stimulate the economy I picked up a packet and some other groceries.  The noodles taste somewhat like our 'kway teow' but I notice that it tends to harden a bit once cooled, so best to eat it immediately. Sweet potato flat noodles stir-fry  ~   炒红薯扁面条 Ingredients 150 gm sweet  potato flat noodles 120 gm pork fillet 3 mushrooms, soaked till soft, stemmed and sliced Some cabbage 1 small carrot, julienned 1 red chilli 1 onion, sliced 4 pips of garlic, chopped (divided) 1 egg light brown sugar, soy sauce, white and black pepper, sesame oil and toasted  sesame seeds M

Homemade bread is always more nutritious than those bought from the supermarkets.  For one I don't add any bread improver or preservatives to my bread making.  Store bought ones may be fresh but they have loads of preservatives added to prolong their shelf life.  When I make bread I can control the ingredients that I want to put into my bread and I can customise the flavour and I find that kneading the dough can be quite therapeutic too! Mixed Fruit Bread  ~    杂果面包 Ingredients 290 gm high protein flour 10 gm wholemeal flour 30 gm sugar 3.1/2 tsp milk powder 18 gm butter (cubed) 1 tsp seasalt 100 gm dried mixed fruits (I used cranberries, sultanas and golden raisin) 1 whole egg beaten wtih 1/2 tsp water, for egg wash 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cinnamon  (optional) 2 tsp dry yeast             ) 170 ml warm water     )  Yeast mixture 1 Tbsp sugar               ) Method Add yeast and sugar to warm water, stir and let it set for about 5 to 8 mins. till foamy. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add

  This easy stir-fry pork tenderloin or pork fillet  is a quick-fix for dinner and can be served on the table in less than 30 minutes.  This dish may have only a few ingredients but is packed with flavour and the pork is soft and velvety which will please the family. Stir-fry pork fillet with ginger and spring onions  ~    姜葱炒猪肉 Ingredients 200 gm pork fillet, sliced 1 tsp light soya sauce 1/2 tsp oyster sauce 3/4 tsp cornflour 1/2 tsp sesame oil 8 slices ginger 2 pips garlic, chopped 1 onion, cut into wedges Spring onions a pinch of salt a pinch of sodium bicarbonate to tenderise the meat Shaoxing wine to drizzle Method Marinate the pork fillet with the sauces, salt, sesame oil, cornflour and sodium bicarbonate for a hour or more. Saute the chopped garlic with some oil, then toss in the ginger and fry till fragrant.  Add in the marinated pork and stir-fry.  Sprinkle some water to cook the meat, cover with lid.  Once the meat is cooked, toss in the spring onions and onion wedges.  Stir

  It's Wool Roll Bread again ........ and this time I used homemade sweet red beans as filling.  As I wanted to make the dough into six rolls instead of five, I chose to try out with a 9 inch instead of an 8 inch round pan.  The six rolls rested neatly in the bigger pan and the reason why I prefer to make into six rolls is because I find that six rolls can acommodate more filling.  Without any doubt, this bread was soft and yummy and I kept the balance in an air tight container, at room temperature and it stayed soft till the third day.  You can opt to microwave the bread for a brief 10 seconds if you prefer to enjoy a piece of warm bread with your favourite cuppa. Wool Roll Bread with Red Bean Filling  ~   红豆毛线球面包    (adapted from 'here' )                                       Ingredients 300 gm high protein flour or bread flour 30 gm sugar 1 tsp seasalt 1 egg  (55 gm or 65 gm) 70 or 80 ml milk 25 gm melted butter Egg wash (1 whole egg + 1.1/2 tsp water to dilute) Sweet re

  This is a simple dish of braised pork belly with beancurd sticks and during braising, the beancurd sticks will absorb the flavours of the braising liquid and will become soft and slightly velvety.  But first the brittle sticks have to be reconstituted in water to soften, before cooking.  Serve this with steamed rice alongside some quick blanched or fried greens. Braised Pork Belly with Beancurd Sticks    ~     腐竹焖五花肉  Ingredients 600 gm pork belly cut into bite size 90 gm dried beancurd stick 1 Tbsp light soya sauce 1/2 Tbsp dark soya sauce 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp sugar and rock sugar to taste 1 tsp salt a dash of pepper 4 to 5 slices of ginger 4 pips of garlic, crushed 2 star anise 2 cloves 1 cinnamon stick 2 Bay leaves 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine Spring onions to garnish (optional) Method Soak the dried beancurd stick till soft, may take about 30 to 45 mins.  Once softened, rinse and cut into 2 inch lengths.  Set aside. Marinate the pork belly with light and dark soya sauces, oyster sau

  It's Chiffon cake again.  I never get tired of baking chiffon cakes and am still looking for new flavours of chiffon cakes.  This is a coffee chiffon with added Kahlua liqueur.  I have shared Coffee chiffon with cocoa layering and Coffee Marble chiffon cake on my blog before and if you are interested feel free to take a peep.  Again as with all chiffon cakes, this Coffee Kahlua chiffon cake doesn't disappoint, it's soft and moist with a tinge of Kahlua liqueur. Coffee Kahlua Chiffon Cake  ~   咖啡戚风蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' with adjustment)   Ingredients (A) 6 egg yolks 90 gm caster sugar 75 ml hot milk 2.1/2 Tbsp coffee granules 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 Tbsp Kahlua 60 ml oil 90 gm plain flour 30 gm cornflour 1 Tbsp cocoa powder (B) 6 egg whites 75 gm caster sugar Method Sift flour, cornflour, cocoa powder, set aside. Dissolve the coffee granules in the hot milk.  Once cool, mix in the Kahlua and vanilla extract. Whisk the egg yolks with sugar till creamy.  Add in the coff