Strawberry Mousse Cake

Last month i did not make a Birthday cake for myself because I celebrated my Birthday in the flight when we returning from Melbourne..But I still think a Birthday must have a Birthday cake..Yesterday I purposely made this Strawberry mousse cake for myself..also i want to practise first because i am planning to make the same cake for my sister's coming Birthday.

These pictures were taken with all decorative items that i bought from Melbourne, a gorgeous Donna Hay cake stand, tea towel from Royal Albert (only able to buy tea towel as the tea set is very pricey) and Pashmak Persian fairy floss 波斯棉花糖 (bought it at Queen Victoria Market).

I like this simple way of making sponge cake disc, don't need to cut and slice !!

The original recipe suggested to add Brandy but i replaced with Grand Marnier, so aromatic ! 

I bet my sister will like this cake too !!

Strawberry Mousse Cake
(recipe source :adapted from meishilife cookbook with minor changes)
*makes a 7” round mousse cake

For the strawberry jelly

110g fresh strawberry, sliced
120g water
40g sugar
1/2tsp Grand Marnier, optional

2tsp powdered gelatin
2tbsp water

100g fresh strawberry, for decorating

Method
1. Add 2tbsp water with gelatin, set aside to bloom.
2. Add strawberry slices, water and sugar in a saucepan, cook and simmer till soften.
3. Blend strawberry mixture and strain the puree.
4. Melted gelatin over simmering water, pour into strawberry puree and add Grand Marnier, mix well.
5. Take 6” removable base pan and wrap foil underneath. Pour in strawberry mixture, place in fresh strawberry slices (try to cut the same height as per the liquid) , refrigerated for 1hour or till set.




For the sponge cake

2 egg yolks
20g sugar
60g cake flour
3tbsp milk

2 egg whites
40g sugar

Method
1. Lightly beat egg yolk with sugar, add in cake flour and milk, combine well, set aside.
2. Beat egg white and sugar till soft peak form.
3. Fold in egg white into egg yolk mixture, fold well to combine.
4. Pipe the batter on a pan lined with non-stick baking paper, one with 6” round and another with 7” round.
5. Bake at a pre-heated oven at 210C for 6-8mins.
6. Once done, set aside to cool.



To make mousse

200g heavy cream
40g sugar
100g milk
1 egg yolk

4tsp powdered gelatin
4tbsp water

Method
1. Add water with gelatin, set aside to bloom.
2. Cook egg yolk and milk till combined. Melted gelatin over simmering water, pour into egg yolk mixure and mix well. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Beat cream with sugar till soft peak form (place over a bowl of ice water).
4. Add gelatin mixture into cream and combine well.



To assemble the Strawberry Mousse Cake

25g dried cranberry, to soften by soaked it with Grand Marnier (or water), chopped

Method
1. Remove strawberry jelly and place at the center of a 7” removable base pan.
2. Pour in half of the mousse, and place a piece of 6” sponge cake at the center.
3. Sprinkle cranberry on top of the cake, cover with the balance half of the mouse.
4. Last, place a piece of 7” sponge cake. Refrigerated for 4hours or overnight or till set.
5. Remove cake from the fridge, take a hair dryer to warm the pan for 1-2mins, remove the pan and upside down the cake. Serve cool and enjoy!

I will be submitting this post to to Aspiring Bakers #18: Layers of Love (April 2012), my “Layered Cake” hosted by Sam of Sweet Samsations

Kiam Chai / Hum Choy (Homemade Pickled Mustard Greens)

Sometime i feel a lot of shops will getting lesser business if i continue to homemade a lot of foods, hehehe..From the last homemade salted eggs, this time i try to pickle mustard green, Hokkien people called as Kiam Chai or Hum Choy in Cantonese..
Also partly due to i bought some cheap mustard green from wet market the other day, RM 2 per kg..

Rinsed, drained and cut large heads of mustard greens into half..

Rub salt in between the leaves and stem

 squeeze moisture from the mustard green and pour in brining solution

 start to ferment for 7 days, this is the ready Kiam Chai (pickled mustard greens)

First i cooked it with stingray, yummy!

And we enjoyed it with fish meat in hotpot for dinner, replace rice with meehoon (rice vermicilli)

Kiam Chai / Hum Choy (Homemade Pickled Mustard Greens)
(recipe source: adapted from My Little Space and flavours lifestyle magazine, with minor changes)

Ingredients
2kg mustard greens (kai choy) 芥菜, rinsed & drained
145g coarse salt

Brining solution
3-4 litres water, or enough to cover
4tbsp salt
40g ginger, sliced
1/2tsp turmeric powder
1tbsp rice flour, mixed with 4tbsp water

Equipment- ceramic crock and heavy object (example plate), or glass jar with lid and a plastic sheet & rubber band

Method

1. Cut large heads of mustard greens into half, rub salt in between the leaves and stem then set aside for about 6 hours to draw out the moisture and wilt the greens.
2. Bring water to boil together with all other brining ingredients. Then set aside to cool before used.
3. Squeeze moisture from the mustard greens and then pack them into jar.
4. Pour cooled brining solution into the jar to keep those mustard greens covered.
5. Cover the top with plastic sheet & tide it up with rubber band, then cover by lid and set aside to in a cool place to ferment for 5-7 days.
6. Check on the greens every day and skim off the whitish bloom that appears on the surface of the brining solution.
7. Remove the mustard green after the 7th day without squeezing out any liquid, discard brining solution.
8. Wrap the mustard greens in cling film and store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 months.



Spicy braised stingray with pickled mustard greens
(recipe source: adapted from flavours lifestyle magazine)

1kg stingray, cut into 5cm pieces

Marinate
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt
A dash of pepper
1tsp sesame oil
1tbsp light soy sauce
1tbsp Shao Xing rice wine
3tbsp cornstarch

20g ginger, peeled and shredded
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 sprigs spring onions, separate white and green into 3cm in lengths
2tsp soy bean paste (taucheo)
350g pickled Hum Choy, soaked for 2hours, rinsed, squeezed dry and sliced
6 bird-eye chillies, chopped
6 red chillies, seeded and sliced
2 tomatoes, quartered
125ml water

Seasonings
1tbsp oyster sauce
2tsp Shao Xing rice wine
1tsp dark soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil
A dash of pepper

2tbsp potato starch, mixed with 2tbsp of water

Method

1. Mix stingray with the marinate and refrigerate for 1hour.
2. Deep fry stingray until lightly browned, set aside.
3. Remain some oil in the wok and sauté ginger, garlic and the white spring onion section until fragrant.
4. Add the bean paste and fry until aromatic. Add Hum Choy and stir-fry for 3mins.
5. Then add stingray, chillies, tomatoes, water and seasonings. Bring to boil and simmer over low heat, covered for 10mins.
6. Thicken the sauce with starch mixture, mix in the green section of spring onion and remove from heat. Enjoy!!


Fish meat hotpot 鱼肉炉
(recipe source: by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover)

Stock (ikan bilis, soy bean, onion with water)
Chinese cabbage
Pickled mustard green
Spring onion
Tomatoes
Yam, sliced and deep fry
Soft tofu
Pickled plum
Lemongrass, crushed
Salt to taste
Instant stock powder

Fish meat
Meehoon noodles (rice vermicelli), blanched in hot water, set aside

Method

1. Boil all ingredients with stock except fish meat and noodles in a hotpot.
2. Add in fish meat and noodles, enjoy!

Mashed Potato Bacon Bread 薯泥培根面包

I tried out this simple bread recipe from a cookbook that i bought from Shanghai. It turn out so good, and we enjoyed this bun for breakfast today..Earlier i also tried out Pumpkin black sesame bread from this cookbook, it turned out good too, going to try out more recipes from this book..

Look at the filling, mashed potato and bacon, i know this is good!

The bread turned out slightly dry on the next day (normal for homemade bread) but still maintain the softness (i guess due to added mashed potato into the dough) ..

Mashed Potato Bacon Bread 薯泥培根面包

(recipe source: adapted from meishilife cookbook with minor changes)
*makes 11 buns

Dough
75g mashed potato
300g bread flour
1 and 1/2tbsp milk powder
30g sugar
1tsp instant yeast
1 egg
70g water
20g butter

Filling
300g mashed potato
70g streaky bacon, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
30g melted butter
1/2tsp salt or taste
A dash of ground black pepper

Method
1. Add all bread ingredients in a mixing bowl except butter, knead till soft dough.
2. Add in butter, continue knead till smooth dough (dough is quite sticky), set aside to proof until double in size.
3. To prepare filling, pan fry chopped onion and bacon till aroma. Add bacon mixture, mashed potato, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl, slowly add in melted butter, stir to combine well. (keep little melted butter for brushing later)
4. Divide dough into 11 equal portions, set aside to rest for 10mins.
5. Flour the work top, flatten dough into round, spoon filling in the middle, wrap and seal. Place on a baking tray. Let is proof for another 45mins.
6. To egg wash the surface, cut a cross pattern with a sharp scissor at the middle until you can see the filling.
7. Bake at pre-heated oven at 180c for 15mins..Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack, brush the top with melted butter for shinning effect.



Glass noodles soup 冬粉汤

This is a bowl of humble and old fashioned noodles soup that we like, no luxury ingredients are added. We especially love to add Tong Choy (a kind of preserved vegetable) in this noodles soup...

This is the Tong choy (preserved vegetable) that we like to add in this noodle soup..

  NO msg is added, thus cook a nice soup base is very important..

Glass noodles soup 冬粉汤
(recipe source: by Sonia a.k.a Nasi Lemak Lover)


500g glass noodles, blanch in hot water


Stock
3 litre water
A handful of ikan bilis ( anchovies)
150g soy bean, soaked in water for 4hours
2 large onions
2tsp salt or to taste


Garnishing
Spring onion, chopped
Red chili, chopped
Fish balls
Fish cake, sliced
Tong choy (preserved vegetable)
Fried garlic oil
Fish sauce


Method


1. Add all stock ingredients in a large pot, boil over low heat for 1-2hour.
2. Blanch fish balls and fish cake slices in the stock. Set aside.
3. To serve-Place glass noodle in a serving bowl, add Tong choy and few drops of fish sauce then pour stock on it. Garnish with fish balls, fish cake slices, spring onion, red chili and garlic oil. Enjoy while hot!

Crispy Roast Pork (Siew Yoke) 脆皮烧肉

I brought this cripsy roast pork to pray for Qingming (Chinese people visit the graves or burial grounds of their ancestors) on last weekend. After the ceremony, everyone was enjoyed this roast pork and they claimed that the taste is exactly like those selling outside..Even my SIL who has left not many teeth, also enjoying this roast pork very much, hehehe.. Free free to try out this recipe as you might surprise with just few simple steps and you can get a very crispy skin of roast pork..

With this special skewer, it was so much easy to prick the skin..

Latest update :-I attached these photos, this is the shop that i bought this skewer. This shop is located at the wet market. They are selling all kind of housewhole items..

buy a nice lean and even layers of pork belly

 first blanch in hot water, this step is good as it will remove the unpleasant smell from the pork if any..

pat dry with paper towel

 use a sharp skewer to prick the skin, more holes you can make the better

use a sharp knife to lightly score the skin

rub salt and seasonings

place on a wire rack and dry in the fridge overnight

 you can personlise the taste with your own spice rub mixture e.g you can add red fermented soy bean , but i prefer mine to be just simple with good Chinese five spices powder and ground white pepper..

roast pork is done with skin blistered and browned

 juicy meat and crispy skin of roast pork, do you like to have some?

Crispy Roast Pork 脆皮烧肉
(recipe source: adapted from flavours food lifestyle magazine with minor changes)

2.8kg pork belly, with skin on
2tbsp salt

Dry rub
2tsp garlic salt (you may replace with garlic powder or grated garlic and salt)
1tsp five spice powder
1tsp ground white pepper

Method

1. Try to have a flat and same level of pork belly (for even browning when roasting) by cutting off those extra meat underneath ). Blanch the pork in a pot of boiling water for 5mins.
2. Remove and wipe dry with paper towels.
3. Prick the skin all over with a sharp skewer, the more holes you can make the better.
4. Then use a sharp knife to lightly score the skin.
5. Massage the dry rub into the meat and rub the salt on the skin.
6. Place pork on a wire rack, uncovered, place in the fridge and let it dry out slowly overnight. (Alternatively put in a oven with a fan blowing for 3hours to dry the skin)
7. Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the pork, skin side up, on a wire rack in the oven, and place a tray underneath to catch the drippings.
8. Roast for 25mins and then switch the oven from bake to grill function (upper heat only), increasing the temperature to 230C. Grill until the skin is evenly blistered and browned (around 50mins)
9. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Cut into long strips then slice and serve warm.