Mooncakes Round 1 - 2015

Finally I managed to try to bake some traditional mooncakes this year.  Been wanting to try making some mooncakes since last year but did not get a chance because I do not have the tools with me.  Thanks to Andrew Lim, who helped me get some moulds from Singapore & I bought a few more when I was in KL. ;)

Mooncakes ready for the oven.

My weights ratio between the filling & dough is about 2:1. Eg 30g of filling & 20g of dough. If lesser dough was used I find that the mooncake's skin is too thin. 

Shaping of the mooncakes. I used plastic sheets to flatten the dough. 

Remember to dust your mould with flour before you mould your mooncake each time!  Otherwise the dough will stick to the mould & will be difficult to remove. 

After baked and after 2 applications of egg wash.

I couldn't find Lye / Alkaline water & my aunt suggested to put baking soda with the flour instead. I tried some bakes with baking soda added and some without baking soda.

There is a difference if Lye / Alkaline water is used in the dough. It helps to gives the mooncake's dough the colour & the texture is slightly softer / smoother.

Here are my mooncakes after they were aged for 3 days. 

Dough without baking soda added.

Dough with baking soda added.

Recipe from 

http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.fr/2011/09/traditional-mooncake.html?m=1

Chin's notes: 

1. I cannot find Lye / Alkaline water, hence I used baking soda instead. 1/4 tsp of baking soda were added.

2. I rested my dough at room temperature for 12 hours before moulding the mooncakes. 

3. Weight for each mooncakes is about 2:1 ratio. For mini mooncakes I used 30g of filling & 20g of dough. 

4. Ready mooncakes fillings were purchased from Kwong Cheong Thye. They were just perfect , not too sweet & very smooth the texture! 

Grilled Pork with Tomato Rice

A simple dinner. Cooked rice cooker tomato rice & served with grilled pork chop.  Sprinkled with some fried garlic & served with Romanian lettuce. The fried garlic made the rice taste much tastier ( if you like fried garlic ;).

Grill pork chop was easily prepared with 2 seasonings, salt & pepper. Grilled at 300 degree C for 10mins or until you get a nice browning on the edges. May need a little longer depending on the thickness of the meat. Watch it closely as it can easily get burnt!!! 

Chin's note: 

1. Rice Cooker Tomato Rice 

http://fromchinshome.blogspot.com/2014/11/rice-cooker-tomato-rice.html

2. I did not seasoned the meat for long about 10mins. 

3. I usually prepared my fried garlic in batches & use them when needed.

Banana Chocolate Cake

Joining in the craze to bake this cake. I just finished baking & garnished this cake. An easy recipe! 

Recipe from Bear Naked Food & here is the link to the recipe. 

http://www.bearnakedfood.com/2015/07/17/easy-banana-chocolate-sheet-cake/

I find that the my cake was too thin & it does not have the volume, so I decided to halve my square cake & spread a layer of chocolate ganache on one & stack the other on top. Coat it with chocolate ganache & added the finishing touches! 

Voilà ! 

The texture of cake is moist & soft, Yummy!!!

Chin's notes: 

1. Baked using 10"x10" square baking tin. Will try a smaller baking pan.

2. The origin of the recipe:

 http://m.joyofbaking.com/cakes/ChocolateBananaCake.html

3. I find that the sweetness is just nice. I used Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate is slightly on the bitter side. Hence the the bitter ganache actually compliments the sweetness. It was suggested in the recipe to use 70% cocoa chocolate. 

If sweet chocolate were used. Then I think it will be overly too sweet.

Barbecue Pork or Char Siew

Barbecue pork, goes well with noodles or rice. I have been away for a while, can't wait to get into my kitchen to cook! 

An easy recipe with simple ingredients. 

Adapted from the following recipe:

http://www.singaporehomecooks.com/2015/05/char-siew-by-sylvia-ramlal.html?m=1

Pan fried in a wok, until oil separated from marinade. 

Served with steamed cooked rice.

Barbecue pork recipe 

500g lean pork. 

2 tbsp oyster sauce 

3 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine 

3 tbsp sesame oil 

3 tbsp sugar 

1/2 tsp 5 spice power 

1 tsp white pepper 

1 tbsp oil 

2 clove of garlic crushed with skin on. 

Preparation method :

1. In a bowl, add in all the marinade & marinate the meat overnight. 

2. Heat up the wok with oil, add in the garlic, fry until fragrant.  Add in the meat & marinade.

3. Using medium-low heat , slowly cook the meat. Cover with a lid & flipped occationally to avoid over burning. But I like it with some burnts sections. 

4. After 20 - 25 minutes turned up the heat, to thicken the sauce. You'll noticed the oil & the marinade separated. Refer to picture. 

5. Turned off the heat, when meat is fully cooked. Dish out the BBQ pork & leave it to cool slightly. Slice the BBQ pork before serving. 

Voilà & bon appétit !! 

Chin's notes:

1. No added salt / light soya sauce  is added because I find that the oyster sauce is quite salty. 

2. Normally food colouring is added to give the meat the reddish touch. You can add some red colouring if you wish. :) 

Golden Syrup

An important ingredient needed to make moon cake. This year I am going to try to make traditional moon cakes after I received my moulds!!!

Golden syrup cannot be used immediately it needs to be aged for at least 2 weeks.

I managed to prepare a batch just before I leave for my vacation & when I returned, it will be ready! :) 

Colours transition from initial to end. About 45 minutes process. 

Here is a simple recipe from Asian Delights - All Time Favourite Recipes by Betty Yew, one of my oldest recipe book ;) 

Ingredients: 

600g sugar 

1 & 3/4 cup of water 

Lemon juice from 1/2 of a large lemon 

Preparation steps:

1. Put all the ingredients in a pot & bring to boil. 

2. Switch the heat to med-low & slow bubbles until the mixture turned golden in colour. 

3. Turn off the heat & leave to cool. Transfer to a bottle for storage.

4. Set aside for at least 2 weeks before use. 

Voilà! 

Chin's notes: 

1. Don't forget to label the date on your bottle. 

Light Butter Cake

I love butter cake & today there is a craving for butter cake & decided to try a new recipe with my 8"x8" pan.  A recipe from Rasa Malaysia.  It turned quite good, light & not too oily with buttery taste. Yum!

And I have always wanted to make lines prints on my cake top.  Finally there is a reason to try it.  It was really easy, lightly rub cold butter on the cooling rack, carefully, place the cake top resting on the cooling rack. Let it cool completely before flipping over. Place a plate at the cake bottom & flip it gently. Voilà! The lines were printed on my cake!! 

Bon appétit !! 

Here is the link to the recipe:

http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-butter-cake/2/

Chin's notes:

1. I used buttermilk instead of fresh milk / yoghurt. 

2. To make butter milk - 4tbsp of fresh milk + 1 tbsp of lemon juice, give a gentle stir & set aside for 10 minutes. 

3. For the lines print, need to rub butter on the cooling rack so the cake won't stick to the cooling rack. 

Prawn Otah-otah

Adapted the recipe from theMEATMENsg's recipe. I replaced all the fish meat with prawns. I prefer the prawn's version ... :p

Mixture of all the ingredients in the food processor.

All wrapped up in banana leaves.

Chin's notes: 

1. Here is the link to original recipe

Video tutorial by theMEATMENsg

http://youtu.be/aRS73J1NLDk

Recipe from jiaksimi.sg

http://jiaksimi.sg/index.php/recipe/otah-otah/

2. My first attempt with tilapia fish & prawns. http://fromchinshome.blogspot.fr/2015/07/otah-otah.html?m=1