Split Top Butter Loaf

Split Top Butter Loaf Recipe

Bread loaf
320 gm Bread flour
66 gmWhipping cream
162 gm milk
33 gm honey
16 gm butter
3 gm yeast
4 gm salt
30gm egg

Topping:
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp coarse sugar
Egg

Method:
Knead everything together, except butter for 15 minutes. Add in butter and knead until a thin membrane can be formed when stretched.

Cover and let proof for an hour or until doubled.

When dough has doubled, punch down and knead. Divide into six balls.
Stretch each ball long and flat, roll up. Place rolled up dough into a buttered loaf pan.
Let proof until double again.

Preheat oven to 180C. When dough has doubled, make a long 1 inch deep slit all the way through the centre. Mix butter and sugar for topping and spoon into the slit, trying to push them down a bit. Brush egg onto dough top.

Bake at 180C for 10minutes and 160C for 25 minutes.

Szechuan Veg. & Chicken Noodle Soup 四川菜鸡汤糆

Szechuan Veg. & Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
200 gm Chicken breast, julienned
100 gm Szechuan Vegetable
1 ½ Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1.5L water
1 ½ tsp salt
3 Bird eyes chili (optional, chopped)
Flat noodles for 2 (prepared according to packaging)

Method:
1. Heat wok and put in oil. Put in chopped garlic and sauté until fragrant and golden.
2. Put in chicken and stir until it’s half cooked.
3. Put in Szechuan vegetables. Stir.
4. Add in water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes
5. Season with salt. It has to be slightly more salty.
6. To serve, place noodles in a bowl, place amount of bird’s eye chili as needed. Pour boiling soup over noodles.

the type of Szechuan Preserved Vegetable I used

Cranberry Bean Soup

Cranberry Beans with Pork Soup

200 gm podded cranberry beans (300gm before they were podded)
300 gm pork (I used pork leg muscles, they looked pretty when I saw them at Tesco)
Half a medium sized dried cuttlefish ( washed & cut into smaller pieces)
1.5L boiling water
5 white peppercorns (smashed)
1 tsp salt

Just bring everything to a boil and simmer for 2-3 hours, and season with salt.




Cranberry beans in pods and podded

Red Bean Spiral Pau 红豆螺旋包

The first time I saw this type of pau is in Subang SS13 Pasar Malam, where an aunty sold it as Fuchow pau. Then I saw it again from a coffee shop in Kampar, and it’s a franchised pau called Langkap Pau.

I made this in smaller portions, not as big as theirs because my wok is not that big.

Pau Skin Recipe
A) 500gm pau flour (low gluten flour)
100gm sugar
¼ tsp salt

B)250ml warm water
1 sachet dry yeast
1 tsp sugar

50gm shortening (melted, but not too hot)

Filling
2 cups of sweetened red beans (I made red bean soup the other day, and I boiled extra beans, scooped out 2 cups of beans, cooked to a thick paste in a wok with 1 Tbsp oil and ½ cup sugar)

2 Pieces of A4 paper, cut into 3 pieces each, and used only 5 out of the 6.

Method:
1) Mix B together and wait for the mixture to froth.
2) Mix A together. Pour B in.
3) Knead until it becomes smooth and doesn’t stick to the side of the mixing bowl.
4) Pour in melted shortening, and knead until the oil is fully incorporated. (It may seem to be very oily, but don’t worry, just knead)
5) Shape into a ball and cover mixing bowl with cling wrap and let sit until dough has doubled. (I knead in a pot, so I just cover up with the pot lid)
6) Punch down and knead. Divide into 5 X 180gm balls.

Assembly:
1. Roll 1 piece of dough into a rectangle about 6” X 8” in between 2 pieces of plastic sheets with the wider side towards you.

2. Remove upper plastic sheet and spread 3 Tbsp of red bean filling onto dough, leaving some space on the edges.

3. By using the lower plastic sheet, roll the dough, swiss roll style or sushi style.

4. Place dough roll with seam side up and fold the ends in.

5. Overturn dough again and place onto a piece of cut up A4 paper.

6. Let sit for 30 minutes and steam on high for 10 minutes.
7. Let cool slightly before slicing pau.

***
To store, keep pau whole. Slice pau before reheating.

Fish Porridge 鱼片粥

Some call this congee, some call this porridge. Well, we call this porridge.

Other types of fish may be used as well, just that frozen dory is really convenient to use anytime.

Fish Porridge Recipe

Ingredients:

¾ cup Thai fragrant rice
1.5L Water

250gm dory fillet (about a cup, sliced thinly)

2 Tbsp ginger, julienned
2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sesame oil

A)
1 Tbsp egg white
½ tsp salt
Dash of pepper
½ tsp sesame oil

Method:
1. Bring water to a boil, wash rice and simmer for 1 hour.
2. Marinate fish with (A)
3. When porridge is simmered to desired texture, put in fish, piece by piece.
4. Add in salt.
5. Ladle porridge into 2 noodle size bowls. Top with 1 tsp sesame oil each, ginger and green onion.

***
Japanese short grain rice may also be used to achieve similar texture.

***
Egg white is added to strengthen fish’s flesh texture, and to give it a smooth feel.