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

  This is my first attempt at making bread with half high protein bread flour and half plain flour.  The crumb is tender and softer than with totally bread flour and it has a pleasant chew and not crumbly.  The crust stays thin and crisps up nicely and not hard to chew.  You can slice up the bread and freeze it for breakfast the next day. Marble Loaf (using 50% high protein and 50% plain flour) Ingredients For Tangzhong 15 gm (taken from total 300 gm) high protein flour 75 ml water or milk, or a mix, preferably milk Method Whisk the 15 gm flour with the 75 ml liquid in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens into a paste, about a minute or two. Let cool to room temperature before using in dough. Note :- Tangzhong can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Use the cling wrap to touch the tangzhong to prevent it from drying in the fridge. Ingredients 135 gm high protein flour (after removing 15 gm for tangzhong). ...

 A sweet and savoury dish which is very appetising.  Unlike the normal deep fried, these pumpkin slices are not.  Instead they are just panfried and coated with a creamy pumpkin sauce, rich in eggy garlic flavour and not too oily.  Partners well with plain white rice. Salted Egg Pumpkin  ~  咸蛋金瓜  Ingredients 300 gm Japanese pumpkin, sliced to 1/4 inch thick 1 salted egg 2 Tablespoon oil 3 pips of garlic, chopped Some curry leaves Bird eye chillies (optional) Method Hard boil the salted egg.  Mashed the egg yolk and egg white separately.  Set aside. In a pan on medium heat, add in the oil, mashed egg yolk and fry till foamy.  Add in the chopped garlic and curry leaves.  Pan fry. Toss in the sliced pumpkin and pan fry, coating the pumpkin with the egg yolk mixture.  Add in the mashed egg white. Once the pumpkin is soft, throw in some chopped bird eye chillies, Dish up and serve.

  This is a very simple pork rib dish and all you have to do is to marinate the ribs and place them in the rice cooker, add water to cover the ribs, and cook using the 'Cook rice' mode.   If the ribs are not tender enough after the first cooking, you can press the 'Cook rice' mode again.  Then add in the Balsamic vinegar to fine tune to taste.  This dish is very appetising to go with plain white rice.  Alternatively, you can opt to cook this dish in your wok or stew pot. Sweet Vinegar Pork Ribs  ~   糖醋排骨 Ingredients 350 gm pork ribs 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar (or any Chinese black vinegar) 1.1/2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp dark soy sauce 40 gm piece sugar (rock sugar or brown sugar also can) Enough water to cover the ribs a few slices of ginger Sesame seeds (optional) Salt, cornflour and water mixture to wash the pork ribs Method Add some salt, cornflour and water to the pork ribs.  Rub them and then rinse with tap water. Plac...

  I added a few tablespoonfuls of Korean Honey Citron Tea or Yuzu marmalade to a basic muffin recipe and the muffins were delicious. They were soft, nice, not crumbly with a bit of tangy taste of the Yuzu, well accompanied with a cup of piping hot coffee or tea. These muffins taste best when eaten warm.   A few teaspoonfuls of the marmalade mixed with water can be turned into a hot or cold drink to soothe the throat especially if there's a first sign of a cough. Korean Honey Citron Tea (柚子茶 ) Muffins     Ingredients 220 gm plain flour 70 gm caster sugar 2 tsp baking powder 5 Tbsp honey citron tea (Yuzu tea) marmalade 1 'L'egg 160 gm plain yoghurt 80 gm vegetable oil 1/4 tsp vanilla a pinch of salt Method Sift flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. Beat egg with oil, add in sugar, beat well.  Then add in the yoghurt followed by the Yuzu marmalade.  Beat till well incorporated. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Mix till jus...

  This is a very easy dish to prepare and it's tasty and delicious to go with plain white rice.  It's somewhat like how we  steamed black bean sauce with pork ribs,  just that this time it's with chicken.  The chicken does taste good, tender and flavourful. Ingredients 250 gm whole leg of chicken, cut into bite size 1/2 Tbsp black bean sauce 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 2 tsp cornflour 2 cloves garlic, chopped a small knob of ginger, chopped a pinch of sugar a dash of pepper Method Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Marinate with all the sauces, mix well till fully incorporated.  Leave to season for about 2 hours. Boil some water in a steamer, place the chicken to steam for about 15 mins. Check to see whether chicken is cooked through.  Remove from steamer and garnish with some spring onions. Serve with plain white hot rice. 

 Smooth and soft steamed egg is easy to prepare with a few ingredients yet it delivers an appetising look and delightful flavour.  But it does require a bit of attention and tips to ensure good result.  The ratio is 1 egg to 1.5 boiled and cooled water.  This dish has long become a hit with children as well as the young and old. Steam egg with Scallops  ~    干贝蒸水蛋 Ingredients 2 eggs around 100 gm 10 gm dried scallops, dehydrated and shredded 150 ml boiled and cooled water 1/8 tsp sea salt Garlic oil Spring onions to garnish Method Wash and soak the dried scallops with 50 ml boiled and cooled water. Beat the eggs with a fork in a measuring cup, add in 100 ml boiled and cooled water, mix well. Add in the 50 ml water from the dried scallops. Add in 1/8 tsp seasalt, mix well. Strain the egg mixture onto a plate, mix in the shredded scallops. Pour onto a dish and scoop out the foam. Prepare a steamer with boiling water, once water is boiling rapidly, put in...

 This Airfried Garlic Chicken is aromatic and crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  There's a health benefit to air frying versus deep oil frying as we do not submerge the meat entirely in the oil, thus the meat will ultimately absorb less oil in the cooking process. Also it saves time and less cleaning up as opposed to having to deal with the aftermath of hot oil Airfried Garlic Chicken ~   氣炸蒜蓉雞     Ingredients 2 whole chicken leg, deboned 2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp chicken seasoning 3/4 tsp garam masala 1 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp salt a dash of garlic oil 10  or more cloves of garlic, finely chopped   Spring onions and parsley for garnishing Method Finely chop up the garlic, shallow fry with some oil till lightly golden, dish up the fried garlic.  Set aside Wash the whole legs of chicken, pat dry on both sides. Lace with the garlic oil. Meanwhile mix the garlic powder, seasoning, garam masala, pepper, salt evenly. Marinate the chic...

 Pork tendons are a great source of protein which is essential for muscle repair, tissue regeneration and overall bodily functions. High in collagen and glucosamine and chondroitin they help to support joint and skin health and muscle maintenance. Low in fat, rich in carbohydrates and trace elements, they have nutritional characteristics of high calcium, high protein and no cholesterol.  Tasteless by nature like sea cucumber, and being tough they need to be slow cooked like braising and simmering to make them tender and release their collagen like in stews to create a rich flavour. Braised pork tendons with pork belly  ~   红烧猪筋   Ingredients 240 gm rehydraed pork tendons (from 150 gm dried tendons) 450 gm pork belly 10 shitake mushrooms rehydrated 4 bulbs of garlic 10 slices of young ginger 5 bay leaves 4 star anise 2 cinnamon sticks 1 to 2 pcs of rock sugar (according to taste) 2 to 3 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 Tbsp light soy sauce 1/2 Tbsp d...