Original Recipe by Poires au Chocolat
Ingredients:
250g ground almonds -- I used natural for a speckled look
250g sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
Line the base of a 25cm round tin. Preheat oven to 180C.
Separate 5 eggs. Crack the last egg into the bowl with the egg yolks.
Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks.
Whip the egg yolk + egg mixture until pale, then tip in the sugar and continue whipping. It is ready when you can draw a letter A with the mixture, and the letter does not disappear until it is complete.
Whisk in the almonds and cinnamon and ginger and salt. This mixture will be quite stiff, but keep whisking until it is uniform and there are no clumps of dry stuff. Use a spatula to wipe off the beaters / whisk, and then scrape the bottom to make sure.
Fold the egg whites into the almond mixture in thirds carefully, to avoid deflating the egg whites too much. Make sure there are no streaks of egg white or clumps of almonds mixture, then scrape the bowl into the prepared tin.
Bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes. It is ready when the middle no longer jiggles and a skewer comes out dry.
Let cool in tin, then turn out to a plate.
Notes:
I made the changes after trialling the original recipe a couple of times. This version is moister, without losing too much lightness.
You can change the spices, or omit them completely. The original recipe uses lemon zest, but my man does not like lemons very much.
Friday 23 January 2015
Monday 12 January 2015
Nasi Lemak Sambal
Original recipe from May's Awesome Mother, who weighs ingredients while making traditional recipes so May can make them too
Ingredients:
40g Candle nut
210g fresh Red Chillis
10g Chilli Padi
20g Belacan
100g Shallots -- small purple ones if possible, banana shallots are not the same
1/2 tbsp Tamarind paste
Limes -- only if you can find mini limes, like limau kasturi, otherwise double the amount of Tamarind paste
100ml oil
Salt -- to taste
Sugar -- to taste
Peel the shallots, and chop them up roughly.
Put them in the bottom of the blender, and puree them.
Cut off any bad bits and remove the top of the chillis. Cut them up roughly, and add them to blender a bit at a time. If you have to, you can add a bit of water.
When this finishes blending, do the same with the chilli padi, and then add all the belacan and candlenuts.
At this point, you can freeze the paste for a few months. When you're ready to use it, take it out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge over night.
Prepare the tamarind water: mix the tamarind paste with three times as much water. Push through a sieve to remove the bits, squeezing to get as much out as possible.
Heat half the oil in a wok or a medium size saucepan. When it is hot, add in all the paste and stir fry over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until aromatic, and no longer 'green tasting'. The oil should also 'release' from the paste. If that does not happen, add more oil and keep frying. You may need the full 100ml.
Add some salt and sugar to taste, and then add the tamarind water / lime juice a bit add a time until the flavors are to your taste.
To serve:
Coconut rice, deep fried little Asian anchovies (can add peanuts if you like them), sliced cucumbers and hard boiled eggs. You can add a beef rendang or other meat curry too if you like, or a deep fried turmeric chicken wing (that's what my favorite place in Singapore does).
Notes:
The limau kasturi juice makes the sambal more fragrant.
You can add small prawns (I mean in the 22-25 per kilo range), peeled, to the sambal after the last step.
The candlenuts are illegal in the USA, so you can substitute macadamias. I'm not sure what they add to the flavor/aromas, but they add creaminess to the sambal. I am not sure how much macadamias you will need, but you can probably start with the same amount and see.
Do the frying outdoors if possible, because the smell is very strong.
If you deep fry chicken, shallots or the little anchovies yourself, you can use the left over oil for the sambal.
In theory, you can grind this with a mortar and pestle, but it will take you a long time unless you have been trained by a grandma. Even my mom uses a blender.
Ingredients:
40g Candle nut
210g fresh Red Chillis
10g Chilli Padi
20g Belacan
100g Shallots -- small purple ones if possible, banana shallots are not the same
1/2 tbsp Tamarind paste
Limes -- only if you can find mini limes, like limau kasturi, otherwise double the amount of Tamarind paste
100ml oil
Salt -- to taste
Sugar -- to taste
Peel the shallots, and chop them up roughly.
Put them in the bottom of the blender, and puree them.
Cut off any bad bits and remove the top of the chillis. Cut them up roughly, and add them to blender a bit at a time. If you have to, you can add a bit of water.
When this finishes blending, do the same with the chilli padi, and then add all the belacan and candlenuts.
At this point, you can freeze the paste for a few months. When you're ready to use it, take it out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge over night.
Prepare the tamarind water: mix the tamarind paste with three times as much water. Push through a sieve to remove the bits, squeezing to get as much out as possible.
Heat half the oil in a wok or a medium size saucepan. When it is hot, add in all the paste and stir fry over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until aromatic, and no longer 'green tasting'. The oil should also 'release' from the paste. If that does not happen, add more oil and keep frying. You may need the full 100ml.
Add some salt and sugar to taste, and then add the tamarind water / lime juice a bit add a time until the flavors are to your taste.
To serve:
Coconut rice, deep fried little Asian anchovies (can add peanuts if you like them), sliced cucumbers and hard boiled eggs. You can add a beef rendang or other meat curry too if you like, or a deep fried turmeric chicken wing (that's what my favorite place in Singapore does).
Notes:
The limau kasturi juice makes the sambal more fragrant.
You can add small prawns (I mean in the 22-25 per kilo range), peeled, to the sambal after the last step.
The candlenuts are illegal in the USA, so you can substitute macadamias. I'm not sure what they add to the flavor/aromas, but they add creaminess to the sambal. I am not sure how much macadamias you will need, but you can probably start with the same amount and see.
Do the frying outdoors if possible, because the smell is very strong.
If you deep fry chicken, shallots or the little anchovies yourself, you can use the left over oil for the sambal.
In theory, you can grind this with a mortar and pestle, but it will take you a long time unless you have been trained by a grandma. Even my mom uses a blender.
Mocha Ogura Cake
Original recipe by Kitchen Tigress
Ingredients:
310g egg white
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
140g caster sugar
125g egg yolk
100g egg white
80g cooking oil -- I used rice bran
40g cocoa powder
140g brewed coffee -- see notes
110g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
Line a 25cm round cake tin. If you have a pan that is at least 8cm tall, you can choose not to line the sides. (see notes)
Heat the oil until smoking. Stir it slowly into the cocoa powder until it is smooth. I recommend adding just enough oil to form a thick paste with the cocoa powder, smoothing it out, and then stir in the rest of the oil.
Put the kettle to boil. Place a roasting pan or similar at the bottom of the oven, and preheat it to 170C.
Whip 310g of egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar. Once the cream of tartar is dissolves, add the sugar in slowly. Whip until stiff peaks.
Whip the remaining egg white and yolk until foamy, then tip in the cocoa mixture. Whip until thick. Keep whipping while slowly pouring in the coffee.
Gradually sift the flour into the bowl. Add the salt last.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the cocoa mixture in thirds. Make sure there are no lumps of egg white and no white streaks.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan at a height.
Pour the hot water into the pan -- 1cm of water should be enough -- and put the cake in. Bake at 170C for 30 minutes, and then turn it down to 130C until it's no longer jiggly in the middle and the top bounces back when gently pressed.
Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes or so, before turning it out onto a plate. Peel off the paper on the sides, if used, then let cool completely before slicing.
Pan Size:
I used a 25cm round tin that is 8cm high, but the cake rose to 12cm or so in a mushroom shape before it sunk. So you can probably use a larger tin or half the recipe for a 20cm square tin (would still need to have high sides).
Tasting Notes:
Lovely. Soft, fluffy and moist mocha sponge.
Try to wait until it's completely cool to slice so that it does not wet down. I was greedy and unable to do this.
Coffee Notes:
I used some sous vide brew made with a boost of vanilla powder, but I will try using a stronger filter brew the next time I make this.
You can substitute water mixed with instant espresso powder, but I find that it does not taste as good.
Future Notes:
I plan to try a chai version for my man soon, as well as a green tea version.
Ingredients:
310g egg white
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
140g caster sugar
125g egg yolk
100g egg white
80g cooking oil -- I used rice bran
40g cocoa powder
140g brewed coffee -- see notes
110g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
Line a 25cm round cake tin. If you have a pan that is at least 8cm tall, you can choose not to line the sides. (see notes)
Heat the oil until smoking. Stir it slowly into the cocoa powder until it is smooth. I recommend adding just enough oil to form a thick paste with the cocoa powder, smoothing it out, and then stir in the rest of the oil.
Put the kettle to boil. Place a roasting pan or similar at the bottom of the oven, and preheat it to 170C.
Whip 310g of egg whites until foamy and add the cream of tartar. Once the cream of tartar is dissolves, add the sugar in slowly. Whip until stiff peaks.
Whip the remaining egg white and yolk until foamy, then tip in the cocoa mixture. Whip until thick. Keep whipping while slowly pouring in the coffee.
Gradually sift the flour into the bowl. Add the salt last.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the cocoa mixture in thirds. Make sure there are no lumps of egg white and no white streaks.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan at a height.
Pour the hot water into the pan -- 1cm of water should be enough -- and put the cake in. Bake at 170C for 30 minutes, and then turn it down to 130C until it's no longer jiggly in the middle and the top bounces back when gently pressed.
Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes or so, before turning it out onto a plate. Peel off the paper on the sides, if used, then let cool completely before slicing.
Pan Size:
I used a 25cm round tin that is 8cm high, but the cake rose to 12cm or so in a mushroom shape before it sunk. So you can probably use a larger tin or half the recipe for a 20cm square tin (would still need to have high sides).
Tasting Notes:
Lovely. Soft, fluffy and moist mocha sponge.
Try to wait until it's completely cool to slice so that it does not wet down. I was greedy and unable to do this.
Coffee Notes:
I used some sous vide brew made with a boost of vanilla powder, but I will try using a stronger filter brew the next time I make this.
You can substitute water mixed with instant espresso powder, but I find that it does not taste as good.
Future Notes:
I plan to try a chai version for my man soon, as well as a green tea version.
Saturday 10 January 2015
Aging Boulevardiers in the Sous Vide Machine
Ingredients:
80g bourbon
40g Punt e Mes vermouth
80g Campari
10g Whiskey barrel chips
Put everything into a jar and into the sous vide machine at 40C for 40 minutes.
Tasting Notes:
It is fairly mellow from the bourbon that was used.
80g bourbon
40g Punt e Mes vermouth
80g Campari
10g Whiskey barrel chips
Put everything into a jar and into the sous vide machine at 40C for 40 minutes.
Tasting Notes:
It is fairly mellow from the bourbon that was used.
Saturday 3 January 2015
Sous Vide Chicken Porridge
Ingredients:
600g chicken stock
75g rice
2g salt
splash of soya sauce
splash of sesame ail
2 slices of ginger root
2g of green goo
Extra chicken stock or water for thinning out
soya sauce and white pepper to serve
Put everything into a jar and sous vide at 85C until the individual rice grains 'open' up. It will look more like individual rice grains that are fully cooked in liquid than rice porridge.
Store in fridge until ready to serve.
Serving Instructions:
Empty out the jar, scraping out the remaining rice grains, into a saucepan. If you would like a thinner porridge (my preference), add up to 150ml of stock or water.
Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes, watching to make sure it does not burn. Rice porridge has a tendency to bubble and splatter.
When the liquid in the pot turns a slightly milky color, serve it ladled into bowls. Excellent accompaniments include shredded poached chicken, gomashio, other kinds of furikake and salty little fish, youtiao and freshly chopped scallions or coriander.
Ratios:
The key ratio here is 75g rice to 600g liquid. Green tea or other stock would make delicious rice porridge as well.
I did try a 100g rice to 600g liquid ratio, but there was too much starch released by the rice relative to the liquid in the jar. In my experience, simmering the porridge a little longer to thicken it is fine, but having to thin it out when it gets too thick does not work out very well. I know this because I have made many many pots of overly thick rice porridge.
Sous Vide vs Stovetop
The main benefits are that you do not have to watch it, check regularly to add water or stir. And it still will not burn.
If you don't have a sous vide machine, that's not a problem. You can just put the jar into very gently simmering water on a stove. If the water gets hotter than 85C, that is not a problem, just that it will probably be ready faster. It will be more of a problem if the water is not hot enough.
Tasting Notes:
This tastes better with a lighter broth. It isn't meant to be a heavy meal, after all.
The ginger is essential, but coriander root is nice to have.
600g chicken stock
75g rice
2g salt
splash of soya sauce
splash of sesame ail
2 slices of ginger root
2g of green goo
Extra chicken stock or water for thinning out
soya sauce and white pepper to serve
Put everything into a jar and sous vide at 85C until the individual rice grains 'open' up. It will look more like individual rice grains that are fully cooked in liquid than rice porridge.
Store in fridge until ready to serve.
Serving Instructions:
Empty out the jar, scraping out the remaining rice grains, into a saucepan. If you would like a thinner porridge (my preference), add up to 150ml of stock or water.
Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes, watching to make sure it does not burn. Rice porridge has a tendency to bubble and splatter.
When the liquid in the pot turns a slightly milky color, serve it ladled into bowls. Excellent accompaniments include shredded poached chicken, gomashio, other kinds of furikake and salty little fish, youtiao and freshly chopped scallions or coriander.
Ratios:
The key ratio here is 75g rice to 600g liquid. Green tea or other stock would make delicious rice porridge as well.
I did try a 100g rice to 600g liquid ratio, but there was too much starch released by the rice relative to the liquid in the jar. In my experience, simmering the porridge a little longer to thicken it is fine, but having to thin it out when it gets too thick does not work out very well. I know this because I have made many many pots of overly thick rice porridge.
Sous Vide vs Stovetop
The main benefits are that you do not have to watch it, check regularly to add water or stir. And it still will not burn.
If you don't have a sous vide machine, that's not a problem. You can just put the jar into very gently simmering water on a stove. If the water gets hotter than 85C, that is not a problem, just that it will probably be ready faster. It will be more of a problem if the water is not hot enough.
Tasting Notes:
This tastes better with a lighter broth. It isn't meant to be a heavy meal, after all.
The ginger is essential, but coriander root is nice to have.
Poached Chicken Legs
Ingredients:
1 pot of chicken stock -- enough to submerge your chicken legs
2 chicken legs -- skin on and bone in
Bring the stock to a gentle simmer, then put in the chicken legs for 20 minute without a lid. Turn off heat, and leave it in for another 10 minutes before removing.
For salty, silky chicken flesh, brush fine salt over the skin and chill in the fridge over night. Remove the skin before eating.
May's Notes:
I have a cheap (read crappy) Kogan induction cooker (I recommend induction, I do not recommend Kogan). I set it to heat at 600W and did not change the setting.
Tasting Notes:
Turned out pretty well, but still a little pink in the middle for me -- I pulled the meat off the bone and put it in rice porridge, so that was fine.
Future Notes:
The legs need a little bit more time, maybe another 5 minutes with the heat on.
You can use water, but I'd add some aromatics and oil to the water.
1 pot of chicken stock -- enough to submerge your chicken legs
2 chicken legs -- skin on and bone in
Bring the stock to a gentle simmer, then put in the chicken legs for 20 minute without a lid. Turn off heat, and leave it in for another 10 minutes before removing.
For salty, silky chicken flesh, brush fine salt over the skin and chill in the fridge over night. Remove the skin before eating.
May's Notes:
I have a cheap (read crappy) Kogan induction cooker (I recommend induction, I do not recommend Kogan). I set it to heat at 600W and did not change the setting.
Tasting Notes:
Turned out pretty well, but still a little pink in the middle for me -- I pulled the meat off the bone and put it in rice porridge, so that was fine.
Future Notes:
The legs need a little bit more time, maybe another 5 minutes with the heat on.
You can use water, but I'd add some aromatics and oil to the water.
Thursday 1 January 2015
Sous Vide Chicken Stock
Ingredients
450g Chicken Necks
2 cloves Garlic
I scalded the chicken necks with hot water, then divided them as follows:
1.5l Jar:
240g chicken necks
1 clove garlic
1180g water -- tap
1l Jar:
200g chicken necks
1 clove garlic
560g water -- tap
Sous vide at 80C for 4 hours.
I also have 3 carcasses and a clove of garlic in a giant pot of water on my new induction cooker for comparison's sake. The temperature in the pot also hovers around 80C.
(I planned for them to go into the machine too, however, my jars are not wide-necked enough.)
Tasting Notes:
Not very different, except for the 1.5l jar tasting thinner, and my induction cooker does keep the temp hovering around 80C as well.
The advantage of using induction is that it lets me skim the scum off, though if you simmer at low temperatures, there isn't very much of it.
Overall, I might do this again if I am unable to use the induction cooker for some reason, but for the amounts that I normally make soup in, the sous vide machine isn't very practical.
If I wanted a jar of stock, and I was already using the sous vide machine for congee or something else, I can see that it would be convenient to also just put the jar the machine.
Other Notes:
Tomorrow, I will publish my tasting notes for sous vide congee based on the jarred stock.
450g Chicken Necks
2 cloves Garlic
I scalded the chicken necks with hot water, then divided them as follows:
1.5l Jar:
240g chicken necks
1 clove garlic
1180g water -- tap
1l Jar:
200g chicken necks
1 clove garlic
560g water -- tap
Sous vide at 80C for 4 hours.
I also have 3 carcasses and a clove of garlic in a giant pot of water on my new induction cooker for comparison's sake. The temperature in the pot also hovers around 80C.
(I planned for them to go into the machine too, however, my jars are not wide-necked enough.)
Tasting Notes:
Not very different, except for the 1.5l jar tasting thinner, and my induction cooker does keep the temp hovering around 80C as well.
The advantage of using induction is that it lets me skim the scum off, though if you simmer at low temperatures, there isn't very much of it.
Overall, I might do this again if I am unable to use the induction cooker for some reason, but for the amounts that I normally make soup in, the sous vide machine isn't very practical.
If I wanted a jar of stock, and I was already using the sous vide machine for congee or something else, I can see that it would be convenient to also just put the jar the machine.
Other Notes:
Tomorrow, I will publish my tasting notes for sous vide congee based on the jarred stock.
Savory Mash Potatoes
Ingredients:
650g cubed potatoes -- after washing, peeling and cutting
200g chicken stock
100g butter
1 clove garlic
Sous vide at 80C for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Future Notes:
Add salt at the beginning of cooking, not half way through because you forgot.
Higher temperature needed. Chef Steps has it at 90C for about half an hour.
650g cubed potatoes -- after washing, peeling and cutting
200g chicken stock
100g butter
1 clove garlic
Sous vide at 80C for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Future Notes:
Add salt at the beginning of cooking, not half way through because you forgot.
Higher temperature needed. Chef Steps has it at 90C for about half an hour.
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