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

I took the opportunity to try my hands at making puff pastry from scratch when I was on vacation as the weather was quite cooling and I assumed that the dough wouldn't be sticky and messy to handle. I could make both oil and water dough easily and there were no 'sweat and tears', LOL!  The pastries turned out nice and flaky and everybody gave their thumbs up for this dim sum, especially my dear grandnephew who asked for more! Oil dough - Sieve the plain flour into a mixing bowl, add in the cold, cubed butter, mash with a fork and slowly combine to form a soft dough.  Wrap up with clingwrap and keep in the fridge for 30 mins.  (You can do this with a food processor if you wish), Water dough - Sieve the plain flour into a mixing bowl, add in the slightly  beaten egg yolks, mix well, add ice cold water gradually ,( you may not require the whole amount of water as too much water can make the pastry tough), mix well and form into a dough.  Wrap up ...

Steamed egg custard, Chinese style aka 'Ton Kai Tan' is one dessert that I'm extremely fond of.  Simple steamed egg custard, not too sweet, can be eaten warm or chilled  When it's warm, it's soft and smooth, once chilled, it's a  bit firm but just as delectable. I remember that when I was little, the hawkers used to carry a pole on their shoulders and had a basket at each end and in each basket were  his products and other paraphernalia used for his sale.  The egg custards were sold warm as there was a small charcoal fire beneath the bowls of egg custard. Eggs used to be a 'forbidden' food because the egg yolks have cholesterol in them and consuming them will raise cholesterol levels in our blood as well.  Now studies have shown that this theory is seriously flawed.  Eggs are a great source of protein and full vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K as well as iron, zinc and antioxidants. see the marks where the knife has been inserted t...