Strewed pork and cabbage bee hoon

Felt really tired after the annual (or biannual) weed spraying but still needed to prepare dinner. Have a sad half a head of cabbage sutting in the fridge and a can of stewed pork specially bought some time back just for such an occasion. 

Adapted from this recipe: http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2013/06/fried-bee-hoon-with-cabbage-and-stewed-pork/

I didn't stir fry the noodles but tossed it like a salad. Used the microwave to heat up the stewed pork and cook the cabbage.

Ingredients

1 can of stewed pork

½ head of cabbage, chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced

3 tbsp light soya sauce

2 tbsp Chinese rice cooking wine

Method

1) Boil a kettle of water and pour into a big bowl. Soak the bee hoon for 10 minutes, not too long or it will fall apart when u toss it. 

2) Pour the can of stewed pork into a deep microwavable bowl. I used a pyrex. Remove as much oil as possible. It would have coagulated on the top.

3) Add the minced garlic and ginger to the stewed pork, along with the cabbage. Toss through and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 5 minutes on medium high. Stir to incorporate.

4) Drain the bee hoon but reserve 1 cup of the soaking water.

5) In the big bowl, toss through stewed pork mixture with the bee hoon till well incorporated but be careful not to break up the bee hoon.

6) Serve immediately. 

Overnight Belgium Yeast Waffle

First trial of yeasted belgium-style waffles discussed in a previous post. I choose this recipe instead of the non-overnight versions because if I'm going to use yeast and let it rise, I won't be skimping on the time element so I might as well be go all the way. I also chose the recipe because it is portioned for 2 people, sufficient oil content, and avoiding baking soda because I find it gives it an alkaline taste which I'm not too fond of.

This adaption is based on two recipes because the proportions are easy to remember: equal parts milk, eggs, and flour. My only adaptations are conversion to cup or metric

:http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/overnight-yeast-waffles

However, I had instant not active yeast and adapted the method from this 

: http://crispywaffle.com/?p=110. This recipe doesn't activate the yeast so does not use water but has 1 tbsp sugar (instead of 1 tsp) to help the proving.

Ingredients (makes 7 waffles *2 leafs + 1 leaf)
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cup warm milk (37 to 40 deg C)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

Method
1) Mix the dry: flour, salt, sugar, and yeast.
2) Mix the wet: Warm milk, butter, beaten egg.
3) Combine but don't over mix but ensure that there are no lumps. I used a spatula to smooth out the lumps rather than stirring or whisking.
4) Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge to prove overnight. (10 to 24 hours)

5) Next day, heat up the waffle iron and pour on 3/4 scoop per side (I only used ¾ scoop per side, and scant 1/2 scoop in the centre) but resist the urge to flatten out. Pour in the centre or it will overflow, as it did on me.

5) After it stops steaming, remove carefully with a spatula to aid u but avoid using a knife or fork which can scratch the nonstick surface. I did not have my oil the surface so I intend to keep it that way.

Recipe feedback
1) The batter was really very watery. I thought I'd done something wrong. But as it turns out, it made the same number of waffles as the American pancake-adapted batter.

Belgium yeast waffles comparisons

Compared to using baking powder in the American versions, the Belgian-style uses yeast and the Belgian waffle iron has deeper pockets because yeasted waffles are supposed to rise more. They are supposed to be thick and spongy but crispy outside.

I've differentiated the recipes by portion size, main ingredients and main methods.

No overnight
Max of 30 minutes resting time only

2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk, 6 tbsp butter
: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/belgian-style-yeast-waffles-recipe

Overnight optional: tends to produce a more yeasty flavour

1 stick butter, 2 cups flour + 3/4 cup wheat flour, 2 large eggs, 2 1/4 cup milk, baking soda
: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016179-simple-yeasted-waffles

For instant yeast

:1 stick butter, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 2 cups milk: http://crispywaffle.com/?p=110
Test

Overnight
Easiest recipe of no butter, 2 cups flour, no eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk
: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/proper-yeast-risen-waffles

For active yeast, needs activating in water first

1/2 cup butter, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 2 cups milk
: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/overnight-yeast-waffles

Looks like this recipe is for a waffle maker with deep wells
1/2 cup butter, 3 cups flour, 2 eggs, 2 cups milk, baking soda
: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-overnight-yeasted-waffles-recipes-from-the-kitchn-199052

American waffles comparisons

These are supposed to be thinner with less deep wells using a more pancake-like batter but crispier. These use baking powder as the rising agent instead of yeast and are a lot faster to make than yeast waffles. I've differentiated the recipes by portion size, main ingredients and main methods.

No butter but uses buttermilk and oil
125g flour (1 cup), 1 egg and 200 ml buttermilk (0.85 cup) or substitute with milk, 2 tsp baking powder, 60ml oil (1/4 cup)

: http://www.noobcook.com/waffles/2/

Proportionately least butter
1 cup flour, 1 egg and 1 cup milk, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp butter (1/8 c)

: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/Waffles.html

Proportionately most egg
1 3/4 cups flour, 2 eggs, 1 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tbsp baking powder (3 tsp)
: http://prettysimplesweet.com/waffles/

Proportionately most baking powder
2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, 4 tsp baking powder
: http://shopcookmake.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/my-infallible-waffle-recipe-butter-and.html

Many recipes also suggest separating the eggs ie whipping the whites to stiff and folding that in for a crispier effect but I'm too lazy.

Confused by the differences in recipes, I found this link http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=29 and learnt that
1) If your waffle iron manual doesn't state that that you should coat the iron with oil (mine didn't), then don't! The 'non-stick' quality comes from the amount of oil in the recipe.
2) Sadly, my instruction manual doesn't state how long to wait for the waffles to cook. This link says wait for all the steam to dissipate.
3) Clean as fast as possible after plates are cooled. It's easier to clean.

Also very confused about the function of eggs (Will more egg result in a spongier but less crispy waffle?), I decided to investigate and found this link http://www.thekitchn.com/baking-school-day-1-all-about-eggs-and-baking-222479

The link said that it's about fat (e.g. think about the creaminess in custards), making batters smooth i.e. emulsifies the ingredients and makes things thick (again, think custards), giving structure and sturdiness to the trapped air (e.g. think chiffon).

So my hypothesis is that it will indeed give the waffle its spongy texture. But crispiness? If some recipes suggest separating the yolk from the white and then incorporating them separately, it's likely that more egg will indeed give the waffle a less crispy texture.

Cotton cheesecake comparisons

This Japanese cheesecake has several names: cotton cheesecake, souffle cheesecake, or simply Japanese cheesecake.

There are broadly 3 main methods of making this. Below are the oft-cited sources that various bloggers adapt from.

1) Uses bain marie with cake flour and corn flour

a) 250gm cream cheese in 2 loaf tins but 100ml milk
http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/02/japanese-cheesecake-fluffy-creamy.html

b) Same ingredients and method as Christine (suspiciously looks like a copy, but who copied whom?) but a relatively smooth top using 250g cream cheese for 8 to 9" pan
http://www.bakingtaitai.com/2013/07/japanese-cotton-cheesecake.html
Tested here

c) 250g gm cream cheese in 8" tin, 100ml milk
http://ieatishootipost.sg/japanese-cheesecake-recipe/
: also based on Diana
: using 200 deg C for a short time but cooking in residual heat for very long
Tested here

d) 250g cream cheese in 8 (lined) or 9" (unlined) tin, 100ml milk
http://rasamalaysia.com/japanese-cheesecake-recipe/2/
(quotes Little Teochew (link isn't open to public) and Diana's cookbook http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/2312/Recipe.cfm
: leaves in oven to cool

e) 250gm cream cheese in 8" tin but 5 egg yolks
http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/japanese-cheesecake.html
: based on an improved version from Diana and uses 1 egg less

2) Uses more cream cheese, likely to be heavier. However, uses beater/hand beats without bain marie.
a) 400g cream cheese in 9" pan: http://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-cheesecake/

b) 100g cream cheese and sour cream in a 5.9" pan from Cooking with Dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbaP5MoLIHk

3) Souffle (instead of 'creamy') Jap cheesecake wh uses less cream cheese
a) Scalded milk but also adapted from Diana
140g cream cheese for 7" pan
http://kitchentigress.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/cotton-soft-japanese-souffle-cheesecake.html
- Her cake as the smoothest top so she must be doing something right!
- removes cake immed from oven

b) 125g cream cheese with 5 egg yolks in 8" tin
http://kitchentigress.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/cotton-soft-japanese-souffle-cheesecake.html
: also based on Diana

4) Jiggly cheesecake that cooks over flame instead of bain marie
Viral video of a jiggly cheesecake that uses 13 egg whites and only 8 yolks for 9" lined tin, and cooked over a flame instead of bain marie. However, several reviewers say that it often comes out undercooked at the bottom and tastes too eggy, not enough cheese.
https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedVideo/videos/2301495576657978/

One Buzzfeed tester updated the recipe:
130ml milk
200g cream cheese
100g butter
5 yolks
1 tsp vanilla
11 whites (whipped to soft peaks)
¼ tsp cream of tartar
60g flour
60g cornstarch
160g sugar
handful of raisins
Bake: 70 mins at 300 deg F and 5 mins at 350 deg F to brown the top

5) Uses double cream
a) with cake and corn flours
http://www.ricenflour.com/recipe/how-to-make-japanese-cotton-cheesecake-recipe/
- need to double the recipe for a 9" pan
- uses 250g cream cheese
Tested here

b) uses normal flour
https://spoonuniversity.com/recipe/japanese-cheesecake-that-fluffy-and-rich-in-flavor
- for 9" pan
- uses 400g cream cheese

6) And finally, tips and tricks
a) http://runawayrice.com/desserts/cotton-cheesecakejapanese-cheesecake/
- Take out cheese and butter 2 hours beforehand from the fridge
- Take out eggs 1 hours before hand. Eggs separate best when cold, but beat up best at room temp.

b) http://ieatishootipost.sg/japanese-cheesecake-recipe/
- use caster, not fine sugar
- fresh eggs beat up better
- use light colour pans (not dark colour ones) which bake more evenly and don't cause the cake to peak then fall
- tap the cake tin a few times with batter on the countertop to dispel the big bubbles
- prefers to use non-removable bottom and line the sides with butter and flour instead of parchment

c) http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/japanese-souffle-cheesecake.html
- remove from oven immediately but like KT, also uses less cream cheese (125g)
- Drop hot cake immediate from the oven on counter top to dispel hot hair
- Unmould the cake immediately instead of leaving it otherwise the paper-like top sticks to the plate, fingers, etc. Also, condensation forms and gives it a soggy bottom.

d) http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/bakingtips.cheesecakes/cheesecakes.cfm
- Pretty much covered by other bloggers but she notes that optimal baking temp is 300 to 325 F (about 148 to 162 C)
- Advocates keeping foil on all the way into the fridge and only removing the tin and foil after it has refrigerated for at least 6 hours.
- Only unmould the next day. (Keep the base on for serving)

e) http://beautybling.yuku.com/topic/1313/Fantastic-Cheesecake-Tips#.V_mn2TKr3BI
- Mix but don't over mix. If using a beater, mix only for 30 seconds for each step, then stop and scrape down the bowl. Mix only until absorbed.
- Line the bottom of the pan with parchment but grease the sides.
- After the batter has been poured in, run a skewer in a zigzag manner to break up the bubbles. Break up big bubbles on the surface by piercing them.
- Water in water bath should come up to about half but no more than 2/3 of the side of the tin. You want to bake, not steam the cake.
- Don't open door in first 30 - 45 minutes or it will crack.
- After the first 10 minutes of cooling in the oven, run a knife around the edges to release. Otherwise as it cools, it will stick to the sides and cause cracks.
- Doneness: Don't over bake! It will continue to cook in the residual heat in the oven and as it cools. It will be slightly wobbly but will firm up in the fridge. Bake only until the outer edges are firm and have a dull look, but the centre is still a bit wobbly but not wet and has a slight sheen. Shake the pan to check that the centre is still a bit wobbly. If the whole surface ripples and shakes like jelly. it's not done.
- For a nice brown, bake at 500 F (260 C!) for 10 minutes then reduce to 300 F (148 C) for the remaining time.
- If there are any cracks/tears, run a heated but wet icing spatula to repair.
- Chill for at least 12 hours or it may still shift and collapse.

f) http://www.ricenflour.com/recipe/how-to-make-japanese-cotton-cheesecake-recipe/
Troubleshooting of cheesecake fails : does not rise, eggy smell, forms a waste, shrinks in the oven or shrinks outside.

g) https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/148168-moist-and-fluffy-souffle-cheesecake
Troubleshooting: claims that a denser pudding like layer at the bottom is due to leaving the meringue and yolk batter unmixed for too long. But I don't think this was true for me.
- suggests spreading butter and powdered sugar on the parchment

No-bake Strawberry cheesecake

Recipe adapted from http://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/no-bake-strawberry-cheesecake/

The only difference is that she had 675g of cream cheese for a 9 inch springform but my locally available Philly only comes to 500g for 2 blocks and I have a 8 inch springform, so the recipe has been proportionally adjusted.

Ingredients
250g biscuits (graham crackers or digestives)
169g butter, melted
56g sugar
300g fresh strawberries (not frozen)
266g whipping cream
500g cream cheese (2 blocks of Philly)
Extra strawberries for decoration

Method
1) In a food processor, blitz the biscuits until fine. Drizzle in the melted butter until it comes together.
2) Pat the crumbs into the base of the springform pan. Place in the fridge to harden while you prepare the filling.
3) Puree the strawberries with sugar until chunky.
4) Drizzle in whipping cream and watch the mixture thicken. Do not overwhip or it will split and become watery.
5) Spread the mixture on top of the biscuit mixture and flatten with a spatula.
6) Leave in the fridge at least overnight to set. It can last for up to 3 days in the fridge and also freezes well.
7) Decorate with strawberries.

Five spice slow cooked beef

I have many slow cooker beef recipes. But usually they come put too sweet or too sour. The best results came from adding an alcohol like red wine or stout to give the gravy real body, but this recipe is a really goof compromise. This one is right and ecen got the thumbs up from 배!

Ingredients

500g stewing beef (chuck, briskit or osso bucco are my preferred)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium sweet potato, peeld and cubed

4 medium carrots

¼ cup barley

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

2 star anise

5 cloves

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp black pepper corns

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp djion mustard

1 beef stock cube

Method

1) Saute the beef in batches. Set aside. 

2) Crack the star anise, cloves and black pepper corns with the back of a knife.

3) Saute the aromatics. Add back the beef and vegs.

4) Slow cook for 3 to 4 hours until the beef is tender.

Anpan あんパン (Plain flour)

I've been wanting to make this ever since I bought つぶあん anko from the store. However, most of the recipes involved bread and cake flour (e.g. my favourite JOC) and I don't have either. So I looked for a recipe using plain flour and found this.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/5927/anpan

The food blogger said that by removing the egg from the recipe, it more closely simulated the soft texture of the original anpan which uses cake and bread flour.

Alternative recipe that uses water and less milk but makes a smaller batch http://mamaloli.com/recipes/other/anpan/

However, I noticed that most of the recipes, the anpan flattened out upon proving and baking. Not a pretty look. And then I came across this recipe which gave tips on hope to keep the anpan dome-shaped.

http://www.forktobelly.com/2016/05/25/anpan-kitty/
(this recipe is based on JOC but technique has been altered. It also has an alternate sweet potato filling, and shapes each anpan as a kitty)

The trick is that when putting in the filling, flatten out the edges but to keep the centre thicker. Much like when wrapping gyoza, no?

Recipe feedback: I tried the recipe by Fresh Loaf because it uses normal flour but this recipe doesn't work. The omission of bread flour made everything almost soupy. Even after adding an egg and putting in another 1/2 cup of flour, it barely stuck together, but it was very very sticky and very very hard to work with, even giving it 5 minutes rest time in between.

Anpan with cheese brioche on the top right since I ran out of anko (480g can, used 2 level tbsp per bun). Baked at 180 deg C fan-forced for 20 mins using egg yolk with splash of milk as glaze. The buns came out very fluffy but very very dense and heavy for some reason. Not very gluten free, haha!

Recipe to try next time: http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2014/12/adzuki-bean-bread-buns-豆沙面包-red-bean-bread-buns/

Updated: Used recipe with bread and cake flours. And also mixed in a food processor. Much better result. http://simmetra.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/anpan-mixed-flours.html

Standard brownie recipe

I have several brownie recipes but I'm calling this 'standard' because I found two recipes from two different sites yet both are exactly the same, except for the vanilla and salt. Here are the links:
Centrecutcook: http://www.centercutcook.com/the-best-brownies/
Iambaker: http://iambaker.net/homemade-brownie-mix/

This version is from the first link but I've added comments from the second link.

Ingredients
Wet
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 tsp)

Dry
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup white flour

⅓ cup cocoa
¼ tsp salt (or 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp baking power
(optional: my addition) 1/4 cup chopped nuts and/or 1/4 cup chocolate chips and/or 1/4 cup raisins)

Method
1) Prepare a 8*8 inch pan with parchment, or butter and coat with thin layer of flour. I prefer parchment. If I leave a bit of overhang on the side, it makes the brownie easier to remove.
3) Mix the wet. Mix the dry. Combine.
3 Pour into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 deg F (176 deg C) for 25 to 30 mins (check after 22 mins). A skewer inserted should come out mostly clean with some crumbs. You want it slightly under cooked because it will continue to cook in the pan.
4) Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely before cutting. Otherwise, it will just be a crumby, fudgey mess.

Recipe feedback: I didn't have a square pan and used my 5*7 inch pyrex pan. On my non-fan forced mode in the oven, it took 31 minutes (checking after 25) and it was just the tiniest bit of wobble. I let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes then on a rack completely for 2 hours before cutting.

I realised that it cannot stay in the pan for too long as it continues to cook on the sides but not the middle, but if u take it out too soon, it collapses. The sugar crystallises on cooling, making the top crispy and hard to cut into so cut carefully.

Pajeon dipping sauce

Tried the version from Maangchi but so far, the dough hasn't been right. Despite using a tonne of oil (ok I exaggerate) it wasn't crispy but too doughy. I have tried her haemul jeon and same problem. Possibly because it uses all purpose flour. Other recipes use cake flour, ice cold water, etc. The addition of the dwenjang was good though. But the dipping sauce was fantastic! So I will continue researching but note the dipping sauce recipe here.

Ingredients

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp vinegar 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1 chopped chilli