Sweetbakes: Thick cocoa brownies

I know it's kinda weird to bake brownies during CNY season, but I did that...Haha.. But it's really for a gathering with my Secondary friends. I wasn't able to be there early for their potluck session, thus I compensated with my brownies with ice-cream.

It was my first attempt at making brownies from scratch although many people tell me how easy it is to make from scratch. Laziness always overcome me. Just can't help it =) From the title, you can tell how thick and chocolatey my brownies are.

So here's my recipe for the brownies with some modifications.
*Warning* This recipe requires good arm strength. Not for the weak! (LOL... Just kidding about the 2nd part, but it really requires alot of stirring.)

Thick Cocoa Brownies (Makes 16 large or 25 smaller squares)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108346










Ingredients
1 and 1/4 sticks unsalted butter (I used 155g)
225g of fine sugar (I feel that the amt of sugar can be reduced further)
85g plus 2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (You can reduce this if you don't like a strong cocoa taste)
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cold large cold eggs
60g all purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (Optional)

8-inch square baking pan

Method
1) Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat your oven to 162°C or 325°F (I put mine to 175°C)

2) Line bottom and sides of baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on 2 opposite sides for easy removal of brownies from pan.

3) Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide pot/pan of barely simmering water.

4) Stir from time to time until butter is melted and the misture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping in to test.

5) Remove the bowl from the pot/ pan and set aside briefly until mixture is only warm, not hot.

6) Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one.

7) When the batter looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the but, if any. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

8) Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.











The results?
Thick, chocolatey brownies that are ever so delicious with a whooping scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

Sweet Bakes

Makan Places: 恭喜发财 (红包一个来)

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and may all be blessed with abundant wealth and great health!

I'm sure most of us will have at least one "Lo hei"(捞鱼生) session during this period of time and I had my first "lo hei" today with my family and relatives.

We went to the JUMBO Seafood Waterfront which is located at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. First up was the salmon yu sheng which was too sweet for my liking. The only thing that I liked was that there was alot of the crispy Chinese shrimp crackers added to it *crunch crunch*

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, the pictures below illustrates the steps to eating yu sheng. Follow closely...

Step 1: Arrange all ingredients neatly on a big plate.

Step 2: Everyone to pick up a pair of chopsticks.

Step 3: Toss all the ingredients into the air (the higher the better) and say auspicious wishes 吉祥话 at the same time.

Step 4: Tuck in!

Our family's kamquat & Sunkist oranges. LOL

Sweetbakes: Easy Shortbread

This is one of the few things which I always liked to bake because this is really EASY...And I mean it... Having bad encounters with baking before, I'm usually not very adventurous with baking anymore. Unless I'm really feeling as if I have extra time and money to spare then I'll try baking something new..

Then again, home baked stuff are probably the best gifts to your friends and family. I personally feel very happy when I receive home baked cookies or cakes as gifts as it shows how much I mean to the person.



Here's the recipe:

Meat :Paper-wrapped chicken 纸包鸡

I have been wanting to try this recipe as I'm quite fascinated by how we can fry chicken that is wrapped with a paper...And coincidentally, I found this recipe from the Food & Travel magazine which I bought last year. It is a pretty easy recipe, just that the frying process was a hell lot of splurting oil. *OUCH*
But it turned out not too bad for my 1st attempt. =) Lots of beginner's luck...

SO here goes the recipe...

Paper-Wrapped Chicken
(Serves 4)

Ingredients
1 chicken (1.2 to 1.5kg) *I only experimented with 1 big drumstick*
100g ginger
2 tbsp Chinese wine (I use Shao Xing wine, can replace with Meigui Lu 玫瑰露 or cooking sherry)
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or honey)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 bunch coriander leaves
2 red chillies, sliced diagonally (I used chilli padi & forgot to slice diagonally)
12 pieces of parchment paper (15 cm square)
Oil for deep frying

Method
1. Cut chicken into serving sizes, removing visible fats.

2. Pound ginger to a pulp with mortar and pestle. Then add chinese wine.

3. Squeeze ginger juice over chicken pieces and add the rest of the seasoning. (It will not matter if some ginger pieces dropped in, it will add to the rustic feel of the dish.)

4. Marinate chicken pieces for at least 6 hours, or overnight would be better.

5. Place a sprig of coriander and a few slices of chillies on a square of parchment.

6. Place chicken pieces on coriander and wrap up into a packet. (DO make sure that your chicken is fairly dry and not with alot of marinating juice. Also wrap your chicken properly to prevent the liquid from spilling into the oil.)

7. Deep fry chicken packets in hot oil to brown. Then place in 250 deg C oven for another 10-15 minutes to finish off.
(I used the extra sauce that is still inside the paper packages to thicken into a sauce to pour over the chicken) Serve hot with white rice or plain fried rice noodles.

That's all folkS!

Makan Places :Botak Jones - Where you can find cheap and authentic American Food!

As my heading suggests, I would really recommend Botak Jones to those of you who love American food and have a hearty appetite. The portion is really biggggg, with almost half a plate of cajun fries and a quarter of a plate of coleslaw with our orders of Cajun Chicken and Fish 'N Chips.

But I noticed that most people can't finish their fries and slaw.. Such a waste...me and Marky sat there looking at the cleaner uncle throw all these food away..

Imagine how many less fortunate people in the world without food and here we are wasting food...Maybe Botak Jones should reduce the portions abit or offer kids sized meals so that small eaters will not have to waste the food...

Okay think I digressed too much.. Here's the moment you've been waiting for...

*drums*

Picture Time!

How often do you see people serving malt vinegar and mustard at coffeeshops? Probably only here...

Cajun chicken - Really gooood...Although it looks hard, but it is really tender inside. The cajun fries are wonderful...But too much.. I tried my best to eat as much as I could but still, alot was wasted. Coleslaw is pretty good too and goes well with the rest of the stuff.


Fish 'N Chips - I find that this is not too bad, but a tad too hard for my liking.

Noodles :Aglio Olio with White Button Mushroom

Flu has decided to visit me this morning to make me feel sick the whole day...But since I'm lazy to do my work, I've decided to update my blog. Otherwise, Markie will start saying that my blog is coming to an end soon. Like my previous blogs. ARGHHHH.. Totally not supportive, next time don't cook nice food for you already. Humph!

Anyway, the food of the day is Aglio Olio.

An easy to make dish and an all time favourite. The basic ingredients are just spaghetti, olive oil, plenty of garlic and red pepper. Sounds easy right?

I've tried this dish many times and I think the best combination is still with white button mushroom. So, I fried this for a BBQ session with my Markie & the womenz. Comments were all pretty positive (although it was already cold), so here's my recipe for my version of aglio olio for you to try it out!

Aglio Olio with White Button Mushrooms









Ingredients:
1/2 a packet of Spaghetti/Linguine (The actual amt should be a little less than that)
2 packets of white button mushrooms, sliced into 2mm slices (Quite expensive @ approximately $3.95 each)
4 tbsp butter (Amt can be increased to suit your taste)
5 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
Salt and black pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (I used finely chopped fresh red chillies)
Parsley for garnishing (It really adds to the taste too)

Method:
1. Cook pasta until al dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Add salt to the water while pasta is being cooked.

3. Drain pasta immediately into a colander when it is cooked and toss it abit to remove excess water. (Pasta should be placed under cold water only if you are making a salad to stop the cooking process)

4. Place 3 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil into a hot frying pan. Add 2 tsp of garlic when butter has melted and fry till fragrant.

5. Add button mushrooms and let them sit in the frying pan until bottom is caramelized.

6. Toss mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes. (You may want to add more butter or olive oil if you find the mushrooms very dry)

7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dish the mushrooms out.

8. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to hot pan. Then add the remaining garlic and chilli to fry till garlic is slightly browned.

9. Add in the cooked pasta and stir fry. At this point, add 1/2 of the sauteed mushrooms and some excess liquid to the pasta for more flavour.

10. Season your pasta with salt and pepper to taste.

11. Lastly, place the remaining mushrooms on top of the pasta and sprinkle parsley generously over the top.

Makan Places :Juju Hokkaido Hotpot

I'm finally back after a very long break.. Actually this post was supposed to be out long some time ago, if not for MARKY..you know what you did that day...=Þ

Okay..back to the topic...Juju Hokkaido Hotpot was introduced by the founder of Tao's Restaurant and having tried Tao's, we decided to give Juju a try...another reason was because we had a 20% discount voucher.. hehe

The food was pretty good and as the name of the restaurant suggests, they serve hotpots...The kombu soup base was light and refreshing while the other ingredients of the hotpot were very fresh. You can choose from the beef, fish, seafood or chicken set and this set meal includes appetizers, a small drink and dessert. All these for approximately $25 before tax (per pax).

First up, we were served a simple yet luscious braised egg with their own special sweet sauce, which I have no idea how to describe the taste. But it's really good.

Next, the sauces came in small little teapots and square dishes.

On the left: Sweet chilli sauce
Middle: Peanut sauce and some herb paste
Right: Japanese soya sauce

Our choice of cold soba came soon after the display of sauces, but I found the sauce rather salty for my liking and the noodles were too soft.

This was a plate of apparantly different dumplings which doesn't really taste very different to me. Don't know if its me or is it the dumplings =) The shot glass on the left contained minced chicken meat and a piece of celery was cleverly placed in it for customers to dig the chicken meat out to place it into the hotpot.

Here's our two main courses of the night. I ordered the fish set, which came with 3 types of fishes while Marky chose the seafood set. The meats were beautifully placed on steel and wooden "ships". This really made the food looks more appetizing. Anyway, there was a piping bag near the fish head which contained fish paste. The interesting thing was that we can just pipe the paste into the hotpot and when it is cooked, it will float to the top. The end reults were springy and yummy fish meat strips.

When we were almost half finished with our hotpot, there was this special icy plum drink which was served. I can tell you that this is really superb! Loved this drink. It's very cold and sour, with the right amount of sweetness. It was a good thing that Marky doesn't like plums, so guess wat.. I got both glasses of plum drink! Wahahaha Anyway, it is the smallest glass of plum drink that I have ever drunk. The size is almost like an elongated shot glass.

Here are the desserts that we ordered to end our meals.

From the left: Black glutinuous rice with a scoop of yam & fruits sago thingy

My verdict? I wouldn't mind bringing my parents there to eat! =)

Veggies :Oven baked onion rings

Having tried deep frying onion rings, I've also experimented with oven baked onion rings to create a healthier alternative to this sinful yet delicious finger food. Here's what I did...

Oven Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, cut into rings (Only bigger rings are used)

1 tbsp milk
1 egg white

Crumb Mixture
Breadcrumbs
2-3 tbsp cornmeal (Optional)
1 tsp paprika (Optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients under crumb mixture together.

2. Mix milk and egg white together.

3. Dip onion rings in milk and egg white mixture.

4. Next, dip into crumb mixture.

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 for thicker crumbs coating

6. Lightly grease oven tray with olive oil and preheat at 200 degrees. Bake for around 30 minutes at 170 degrees, flipping onion rings after approx. 10 minutes (Baking time varies from oven to oven. Best gauge is when onion rings turn golden brown)

Veggies :Fried Kai Lan

I'm sure many people has eaten stir fried Kai Lan but what about Deep Fried Kai Lan? I came across this recipe in the same cookbook as mentioned in previous post and decided to give it a shot! The verdict? Me and mum felt that it tasted like "cai poh" (Chinese pickled radish).. So weird.. Haha.. But I think it taste goooood.. A good substitute to "cai poh". But the down side is that it also has to be eaten the moment it is cooked as it will lose the crispness pretty fast. But overall an interesting dish to try.

Fried Kai Lan

Ingredients A:
500g kai lan
A small portion of carrot, diced

oil for deep-frying

1/2 tbsp shredded ginger

1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

Ingredients B:
1 tsp caster sugar

1 tbsp shredded dried cuttlefish (I ommitted this)

1 tbsp small ikan bilis, fried until crispy

Seasoning:
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
a little shaoxing wine
a little corn flour water for thickening

Method:

1. Separate kai lan into leaves and stems. Cut leaves into fine shreds and cut the stems into slices. (I diced my stems)
2. Heat up oil for deep frying, deep fry kai lan leaves until crispy. Dish and drain. (I suggest adding all the leaves to deep fry at the same time so that it doesn't burn that easily. Oil shouldn't be too hot and only fry the leaves for approx.1 min)

3. Leave 1 tbsp of oil in wok to saute ginger and garlic until fragrant.

4. Add in kai lan stems & carrots to stir fry for 1 minute.
5. Add seasoning and stir fry till cooked.
6. Thicken with corn flour water and dish up.











7. Put fried kai lan leaves on top of stems, sprinkle Ingredients B over it and serve.

*Fry your stems and carrots first and deep fry leaves last to ensure crispness*

Meat : Veggies :Deep fried onion chicken in special sauce

Found this recipe inside one of the cookbooks called Hawkers' Fair Simplified. The taste turned out pretty good except that the onions turned soft and not crispy after a while if not taken hot. The chicken wasn't very crispy after a while too. I think its the corn flour that was used.. I should experiment on what flour is best for frying one of these days when I'm more free...

Anyway, I made some changes to the recipe as you will see later.

Deep Fried Onion Chicken in Special Sauce (Best eaten hot!)

Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs, removed bones
1 onion, cut into think rings

Corn flour for coating chicken

Marinade:

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp curry powder (Couldn't find this at home, so I used the Curry instant noodles seasoning instead and cut back on the salt.)

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 egg

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp sesame oil (Not in the recipe)

Coating for Onion Rings (Mixed):
1/2 egg
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce:
2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce
1tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp light soya sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame oil (Not in the recipe)
A dash of Shaoxing wine (Not in the recipe)
A dash of pepper (Not in the recipe)

Method:
1. Combine chicken thighs with marinade and season for 30 minutes. (I left for around 3 hrs)
2. Then coat with corn flour and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish up and leave to cool before cutting into serving pieces.

3. Dip onion rings in egg and salt mixture, the coat with corn flour and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish up and arrange on top of chicken.

4. Leave 1 tbsp of oil in wok, pour in sauce ingredients and cook until thick. Pour over onion rings and chicken. Serve hot. (I feel that the sauce should be left aside as a dipping sauce)

Meat : Veggies :Christmas Potlucks

Christmas is always a busy time of the year for me as I'll usually have gatherings with my family and friends. So whenever there's gatherings, there will be potlucks! This year, there's only 2 potluck sessions, one with my family and the other with my Frenz184.

Family Potluck
As mentioned in previous entries, I made cold soba and udon for my family. I added baked potatoes at the last minute. Anyway, this is the 1st time that some of my relatives are eating cold noodles and they are probably not used to having their noodles cold. But ultimately, my noodles finished in no time. =) I wouldn't post any more pics of the cold soba & udon already as they can be found in earlier entries.

So here's my baked potatoes--->

Frenz184 Potluck
Here's what we had for dinner that day. We don't have alot of people, just 5 of us. But being kiasu, we prepared too much food...lol

The yummylicious fried rice (My favourite!) and fried chicken wings (2nd favourite!) were contributed by Cheryl with the help of her mum (or the other way round =x), fried finger food contributed by Sharon's mum and Pearlynn did up the fruits yogurt. As for me, I prepared black pepper bruschettas this time round and according to Cheryl's parents, it was pretty good. Yeah! So here's my recipe for the black pepper bruschettas. Enjoy!

Black Pepper Bruschettas (Makes around 16)










Ingredients:
1 big chicken breast, deboned
1/2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 small yellow onion
1/2 a red capsicum (depending on individual liking)
Singlong black pepper sauce (can be found in NTUC), amount depends on individual
A splash of Shaoxing cooking wine (Optional, but nice to have)
1 baguette (Delifrance is the best!), sliced diagonally
1/2 a packet of Mozarella cheese

Method:
1. Slice chicken breast into small pieces
2. Place chicken into a plastic bag and marinate with sesame oil and 1 heaping spoon of black pepper sauce (Marinate overnight for better tasting chicken)
3. Chop onion and capsicum into small cubes.
4. Using medium fire, brown the onions in the pan and add capsicum. Fry for 1 minute.
5. Add chicken and continue frying.
6. Pour in 2-3 tbsps (depending on individual) of black pepper sauce while chicken is around half cooked.
7. When chicken is just cooked, turn on high fire and add Shaoxing wine to the side of the frying pan/wok that is nearer to the flames. (My mum said that this is to give the food a 'wok hei' taste.) *Chicken can be done ahead of time*
8. Scoop some chicken onto each slice of baguette and top with mozarella cheese.
9. Finally, bake bruschettas at around 150 degrees until the cheese melts and browns.

Makan Places :Waraku Japanese Restaurant (Part I)

Here's introducing my favourite Japanese restaurant at the moment ---> Waraku Japanese Restaurant . It may not be the best but I feel that it is pretty authentic and value for money. And probably that's why you can always see Japanese dining there.

Anyway, Waraku currently has 5 outlets, with its newly opened outlet at Eu Tong Sen Street. My favourite outlet remains the one at Cuppage. I've eaten twice at the Marina Sq outlet but felt that the standard is always not there. Another time at the East Coast outlet before they changed their name to Waraku (It was known as Sento back then). Not too bad there, but out of the way.

So much for the talking...Here are some delicious food which me and Char ate there the other day. Cheers!












I ordered the Rindo set which consisted of Pork katsu don, cold soba & udon. All these for just $14.90++ !!!
The pork cutlet is very cripsy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It absorbed the delicious sauce that was poured on it. Yum Yum!


Char ordered Curry Katsu Don as she wanted to try the curry. She felt that it was quite good, while I felt that the curry at Curry Favour is much better. But the rice is well cooked unlike Ichiban Boshi's or Genki etc.

Look at Char's contented look!











Our final dish was Agedashi tofu and unlike the usual presentation method of putting the tofu into small bowls, we had our tofu in a huuuuugee wooden box with the words 千都 , which refers to the previous name, Sento.

That's all for Part 1, tune in for Part 2, hopefully soon!