Real pandan juice chiffon

For this recipe, I relied on my usual favourite, DMG. She has two recipes - one that uses pandan paste which I find hard to procure, and the natural method using pandan juice. I decided to use the latter recipe. She uses coconut oil and it gives the cake a lovely fragrance.
http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2017/08/pandan-chiffon-cake-pandan-juice-method/

This is another recipe by one of my favourite bloggers and very carefully explains his method. It's also for a 25cm chiffon
http://ieatishootipost.sg/how-to-make-a-pandan-chiffon-cake/
The difference is that he uses baking powder and also paste but not real pandan juice, and there is a lot more liquid in his recipe. In terms of baking tips, I didn't follow all his advice as I find that it doesn't really all work in my experience. Interestingly, he only bakes for 55 minutes at the same temp even though there's more liquid, whereas DMG bakes for 65 minutes. I have found that her cakes tended to be a bit burnt on the top and I've always needed to tent it in the last 15 minutes. I might try his recipe next time.

Ingredients
6 eggs, separated
138g sugar
70ml of pandan juice
90ml coconut milk
50ml coconut oil (or replace with a neutral tasting oil)
145g cake flour
½ tsp vanilla
pinch salt
⅛ tsp vinegar

Quite flat

Method
1. To make the juice, snip the leaves into a blender. Add just enough water to blend. Sieve into an airtight container to store overnight. The denser juice will settle at the bottom. The next day, carefully pour off the top watery layer.
2. Separate the eggs straight from the fridge.
3. In the yolks, add 30g of sugar and beat until pale. Add the coconut oil and beat until pale.
4. Add the coconut milk and salt, and combine with a whisk.
5. Sift in the flour and fold in. Set aside.
6. In a very clean bowl, beat the egg whites until opaque on low speed. Add the sugar in 3 batches and beat in between. Once all the sugar has been added, add the vinegar. Turn up the speed and beat until stiff peaks.
7. Add ⅓ of the meringue to the batter and gently combine with a whisk. Add the second third and even more gently combine to avoid knocking out the air.
8. Finally, pour all the batter into the remaining third of meringue and this time with a spatula, very carefully fold in by rotating the bowl in 1 direction only.
9. Drop the bowl on the table top to knock out the bigger bubbles. Pour into the pan from one side. the batter should spread.
10. Using the spatula, spread the batter evenly away from centre funnel. Run the spatula in a zigzag manner around the batter and especially around the sides of the pan and funnel. This breaks up the smaller bubbles. Drop the tin from a height several times to knock out more air bubbles.
11. Bake at 170 deg C for 65 minutes. Tent with foil in the last 15 minutes if the cake gets too brown.
12. Invert the tin over a pan so that it hangs upside down so that the cake doesn't deflate.
13. Once totally cooled, cut out the cake from the tin. Store in an airtight box.

No green color, no pandan smell or taste

Recipe feedback
- This has no taste or smell of pandan at all. I was pretty disappointed because it tasted like vanilla chiffon cake. Thank goodness I had added the coconut oil and vanilla, otherwise there would be no taste whatsoever! It also has no green colour. I think the use of pandan paste or essence is inevitable.
- This cake was a tad denser than the normal chiffon I am used to. I wonder if this had to do with the coconut oil and coconut milk. But still very very moist.

Update 11 July 20: Because the first pandan juice chiffon was so anemic, I decided to try making the pandan juice again. Snipped up 10 pandan leaves, put them in the food processor with 70ml of water, then poured it into muslin and squeezed it. I did drop in 3 drops of pandan essence just to give it a better colour.

Updated 20 Sep 20: Updated recipe here: https://simmetra.blogspot.com/2021/09/pandan-juice-and-paste-chiffon.html

Slight crack

Prettier!

 

BBQ Sio bak (Siu yuk)

Because it's CNY! I have never made this because of my fear of messy, splattered ovens, but why not start trying now for the Year of the Pig.

Explanation: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/crispy-pork-belly-siu-yuk/
: pricking of skin with fork, use of white vinegar to soften skin, cooking over water to avoid too much smoke, cutting from meat first

Method and ingredients: This recipe uses the BBQ which avoids messing up the oven, and also uses red fermented beancurd. I adapted this from their CNY recipe which uses mandarins.
http://themeatmen.sg/sio-bak-mandarin-orange-mustard/?fbclid=IwAR0o5sHrLamzWfHJdrT6T8KJ9MlHXkezHDqITVZircipkTCdUxZXVzen_RI

Method: https://www.recipetineats.com/chinese-crispy-pork-belly/
: Different ways of making the skin crispy: with pricking and without

Ingredients
1.2kg pork belly
2 mashed nam yu (red fermented beancurd)
1 tbsp five spice powder
½ tbsp rock salt (for marinade) + 1 tbsp salt (for skin)
1 tbsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp rice cooking wine

Topping
1 tbsp rock salt
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Method
1. Prepare the meat. Make slits at the bottom of the meat. On top, wipe dry with kitchen towels. Either prick with a meat pricker, slash squares with a knife, or use several skewers tied together with a rubber band. Whichever method you use, ensure that you do not pierce the fat layer underneath otherwise the fat will bubble to the surface during cooking and make the skin soggy.
2. Mix the marinade ingredients in a flat pan. Rub the marinade into the meat but be careful that the marinade doesn't touch the skin. Carefully place the meat into the pan and ensure that it is well coated all over, except on the skin side. Blot the skin and sprinkle on 1 tbsp of salt. Rub into the skin.
3. Leave in the fridge to marinade for 12 to 24 hours, uncovered. It has to be uncovered so that the skin is allowed to dry out.
4. The next day, bring the pan out of the fridge and allow the meat to come to room temperature.
5. Using a foil, carefully encase the meat in the foil. Leave a 1 to 1.5cm tall border around the top of the skin, but ensure that it is tightly fitting against the meat. Pour on the 1 tbsp of rock salt to make a salt layer topping. If you encased the meat properly, the border should prevent the rock salt from falling off the sides and touching the meat. If it does, it will be very salty. Another way is to leave a 0.5cm border around the edge clear of salt so that when the meat cooks and shrinks, the salt will not fall down the sides.
6. Cook at 180 deg C for 1 hour.
7. Next, remove the meat and turn up to 230 deg C. I used the BBQ for this portion to avoid a messy splatted oven. Remove the meat from the foil casing and carefully list onto a baking rack (as pictured). Cook for 20 to 25 minutes so that the skin puffs up and becomes shatteringly crispy. Check after 15 minutes. I went for 20 minutes and it burnt. If it does, simply scrape off the burnt bits.

Opps burnt!

8. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes, uncovered. To chop up, turn it on its side and cut the meat portion first, before chopping down on the skin with a cleaver. This way, you get one entire piece and the skin doesn't break off.

After scraping away the burnt parts and chopping. So juicy!

9. Serve with mustard, or I prefer sweet sauce.

Potato and celery soup

Adapted from here. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2998693/creamy-celery-and-potato-soup
Instead of a pure vegetarian soup or the use of chicken stock, I finished up my leftover beef stock and it was splendid!

Ingredients
3 rashes of bacon, finely chopped
6 to 7 celery sticks, chopped
1 sweet potato, cubed
4 potatoes (or carrots as preferred)
½ onion, chopped
750ml beef stock
2 - 3 bay leafs
2 tbsp barley
½ cup milk, full cream (don't use skim or it may split)
1 tbsp olive oil (or butter)

Method
1) Saute the bacon in about 1 tbsp of olive oil until slightly brown and fat has rendered. Add the onions and continue to saute until transparent.
2) Add the chopped celery and saute until slightly softened, followed by the potatoes and briefly fry.
3) Pour in the beef stock, and add the bay leafs and barley.
4) Set to slow cook for anything between ½ hour (until the potatoes are soft) to 2 hours (potatoes disintegrate) according to your liking.
5) Turn off the slow cooker and pour in the milk. Stir to combine.
6) If desired, remove a portion of the soup and veg, and blend the rest with a stick blender. Add back the removed ved. (I didn't do this as I like chunky soups)
6) Serve hot with crusty bread, but I like it cold (after a night in the fridge) in summer.