Goma and Rum & raisin ice cream

Based on this recipe, I went on to create more flavours.

Goma: used 4 tbsp of toasted black sesame seeds which were heated in a pan (dry fry) till there was a sizzling sound. Be careful, they burn! I crushed 3 tsp in a pastle and mortar and reserved the last tbsp for some texture. I added 1 tsp of vanilla flavour which was just nice. Next time however, I'll up it to 1 more tsp of crushed sesame seeds.

Rum & raisin: This time, I soaked 1/4 cup of raisins in 1/4 cup of rum overnight. I added 1 tsp of vanilla and the rum to the mixture. When it had set (about 6 hours in the freezer), I added in the raisins, otherwise they will all sink to the bottom. The alcohol defintely makes it harder for the ice cream to set, because compared with the Goma which was nicely set after a night, the r&r was still slightly slushy!

Kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi)

Got the recipe from http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kkakdugi. Interestingly it wasn't so garlicky fresh but it is after a week!

(Not quite) Toad in the Hole

I got the inspiration to do Toad in the Hole from OnePotChef. Here's the original link. 

The recipe is pretty simple but I modified it to include mushrooms and my home grown herbs - the first cut!

Ingredients (serves 4)

16 cocktail British sausages

4 tbsp oil (I can't say for sure, but I basically coated my Pyrex and it had about 0.7cm depth of oil left over)

3/4 cup plain flour

1 1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

Salt and pepper

1/4 chopped fresh herbs

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 pinch salt

Method

1) Preheat oven to 220 deg C. Pour the oil into the baking dish and coat the sides well. Prepare the sausages by patting them dry.

2) Mix the ingredients for the batter. Sift the flour and add the pinch of salt.

3) In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients - beat the eggs and then add the milk.

4) Make a well in the centre of the flour. Slowly pour in the wet mixture, making sure to stir in. Lastly, add the chopped herbs and mushroom, and fold in to incorporate.

5) Put the baking dish with the oil in the oven for 10 minutes to heat up the oil. Once it is hot (preferably smoking), add the sausages. They should sizzle. Bake for 10 minutes.

6) Take out the pan and turn the sausages. Pour the batter around the sausages. It should sizzle.

7) Put it back into the oven and turn down the temperature to 200 deg C. It should cook for another 20 to 25 minutes. Just check to ensure it is golden brown on top and frothing inside (that's the beauty of Pyrex!) Garnish with parsley and serve with gravy and mashed potato if you're so British!

How to make shrimps 'crunchy'

Here's the answer! Alkaline!

http://rasamalaysia.com/how-to-make-shrimps-crunchy/

红油抄手 (Sichuan red oil wanton)

Got the recipe from Rasa Malaysia and adapted it because it was just too involved.

Ingredients

Wantons (I used 10 to 12 that I previously made)

1/4 cup soya sauce

2 tbsp black vinegar (I used balsamic as a pretty good substitute)

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp sichuan pepper corns, crushed

3 tbsp chilli oil

Cilantro

1 stalk spring onion

Fried garlic (optional)

Method

1) Cook the wantons.

2) Mix up the vinaigrette and mix the wanton in it. Garnish with cilantro, chopped spring onion and fried garlic.

Khow Yok (Steamed pork with yam)

Got this recipe from a new Malaysian neighbour, who got it off the internet and made it. The result was pretty good, brought tears to my eyes from the memory of what gran used to make! This could be the long lost recipe which my family has been trying to replicate for years since her passing. Although every family probably has its family secret, but the fundamentals of the recipe are here, so it's a matter of tweaking to taste from memory and going from there!

Ingredients

300g pork belly

1 taro

1/2 tbsp thick dark soya sauce

2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

Chopped garlic or shallots (optional)

Marinade

1 1/2 cubes nam yue (fermented bean paste)

1 tbsp taucheow

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp thick dark soya sauce

1 tsp cooking oil

Sauce

3/4 cup - 1 cup water

1 tbsp oyster sauce

dash of pepper

1 tsp 5-spice powder

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp shao hsing wine

1/2 cube nam yue

1/2 tsp thick dark soya sauce

1 tbsp corn flour

Method

1) Marinate the pork belly, preferably overnight. Drain the pork, pat dry and deep fry the whole piece of pork belly. Alternatively, you can buy roast pork belly. Set aside.

2) Slice the yam into 3 cm thick slices. Deep fry the slices and set aside.

3) Combine all the ingredients for the sauce, without the cornflour, and bring to a simmer in a pan. Once the sauce and reduced and thickened slightly, add the cornflour to a bit of water and pour into the sauce to thicken. Once it has thickened, take it off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

4) In a deep steaming dish, alternate the pork with yam slices. Pour over the sauce and ensure all the pieces are well coated. Steam on a very low heat for 2.5 to 3 hours, checking to ensure that the yam is cooked all the way through with a fork (breaks easily). Serve with fried garlic or chopped shallots. 

Tips on salt

I never knew there were so many kinds of salt! I made the mistake of buying iodized salt for doing kimchi.  It made my kimchi limp and now I know why! My last batch of salt lasted me over 7 years untll I threw out the remainder. How long is ths one going to last me?

Interesting article on salt

This article gives more specific instructions and comparisons between the types of salts and also advises which salt to use and when. http://www.vox.com/2016/5/15/11409808/when-to-use-sea-salt-kosher-salt

Home made chocolate chip rum raisin ice cream

I basically used this recipe from the One Pot Chef and adapted it. I also like this link for introducing other flavours.

Ingredients (makes about 1.5ml)

400 ml of condense milk (1 can - I found this way too sweet. Next time I might reduce this by maybe 50 to 100ml to 350 or 300ml? Not sure what effect this would have on the consistency of the ice cream though)

600 ml of thick cream (says 'suitable for whipping' on label)

300g chocolate buttons (white, milk or dark chocolate are all fine)

3 tbsp rum (might increase this to 4 tsp in future because I couldn't taste any rum!)

1/2 cup raisins

Method

1) Soak the raisins in the rum.

2) Melt the chocolate in a microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, repeat until all the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.

3) Combine the condensed milk, cream and cooled melted chocolate in a bowl. Use an electric beater and beat until thick. (consistency should be enough to draw a line on the surface which stays for several seconds)

4) Pour into a tub and freeze for at least 6 to 8 hours or better still, over night.

5) Home made ice cream is usually harder than store bought. If it's too hard, leave it on the counter to defrost a little. 

Feedback on the recipe

I initially wanted to make 2 different flavours - rum and raisin, and regular chocolate. I put an aluminium foil to create 2 compartments in the 2l container. The ice cream mixture held, but unfortunately, the rum soaked through to the other compartment, so I decided to mix everything up anyway. Note to self, next time use 2 containers!

After letting the melted chocolate cool, for some reason, it actually 'split' and hardened into little flakes. That's how I ended up with chocolate chip, not by design! I'm not sure if it's my brand of cooking chocolate, or whether I let it get too cool, or whether I stirred through the chocolate rather than beating it through but I don't think this should make a difference since the beater beats, not blends. I'm not particularly keen to use cooking chocolate again. Maybe I should try cocoa but that will give it a chalky texture.

Also, I didn't know what stage to beat it till and my mixture actually 'fell' and deflated! I was rather upset. To compromise (and only because I had a lot of time on my hands), although the beauty of this recipe was not having to run a fork through or use an electric beater to break up the ice crystals every 1.5 hours or so, I still did it anyway (about 4 times in total) in an attempt to make the mixture more smooth. I don't think it broke up the chocolate but it certainly made the ice cream smoother!

Finally, my ice cream was still soft (edible) the next morning! I don't know whether the alcohol interrupted the freezing process, or whether it's because my fridge isn't cold enough. But it's a good kinda soft, I can scoup it out straight without waiting for defrosting!

Notes on the seizing up of chocolate
1) Never use a wooden spoon to stir melted chocolate. It retains moisture, which causes chocolate to seize up. The same with any left over moisture in the bowl. Use a metal spoon to stir, and ensure the bowl is completely dry. (I wasn't using a metal spoon but I was using a silicon sputula, so I doubt this caused it)

2) Over heated chocolate can seize up too. That's why the double boiler or bain marie is more fail safe, but it does use more equipment. To melt chocolate in a microwave, use short bursts of 30s. In my case, I might try not using full power (eg use 70%) next time. Also don't heat the chocolate till all is melted. There will still be some residual lumps, use the spoon to stir till everything is melted. The residual heat will melt any lumps.

3) Adding milk or water to a seized chocolate mixture will not revive it. Adding melted butter will kept it molten and it won't set again, whether in the oven or fridge. Good for chocolate sauce though.

4) Also, use small pieces of chocolate, so choco buttons are great, or chop up the cooking choc (don't use regular eating choc!) into little nuggets to melt faster and prevent over-heating.