Pumpkin Buns

     

Pumpkin is a nutritious orange vegetable, and a highly nutrient rich food. It is low in calories but rich in vitamins and minerals. According to Healthline.com, pumpkin is highly nutritious and is particularly rich in vitamin A. Its high antioxidant content may reduce risk of chronic diseases. Thirdly, it is packed with vitamins which may boost immunity. It contains vitamin A, lutein and zeaxanthin which may protect our eyesight. Fifthly, its nutrient density and low calorie count may promote weight loss. Its antioxidant content cay lower risk of cancer. Its potassium, vitamin C and fiber may benefit heart health.  Next, it contains compounds that promote healthy skin. Lastly, it is incredibly versatile and easy to add to our diet.

I have mostly used pumpkin to make soups. Many a times I have simply steamed it to be eaten with rice. I have used it a lot in my baking, especially in baking breads. Pumpkin makes my breads very moist and soft. Other ways that we can incorporate it into our meals are as desserts like pumpkin kuih, salads and even as a substitute for butter.


Ingredients:

• 400 g bread flour or high protein flour 
• 120 g milk
• 80 g pumpkin puree (Steam the pumpkin and mash it into a puree.)
• 50 g castor sugar 
• 40 g butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp yeast
• For egg wash - 1 egg plus 1 tbsp milk
• Some (untoasted) black sesame seeds

Method

• First of all, activate the yeast. Add a bit of the sugar to some of the lukewarm milk, stir the milk to dissolve the sugar and then sprinkle the yeast onto it.

• Once bubbles have formed (after approximately 10 minutes), the yeast mixture is ready for making the buns.

• Pour the rest of the lukewarm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer.

• Transfer the yeast mixture into the mixing bowl.

• Break the egg into the mixing bowl.

• Add in the rest of the sugar and salt.

• Add the pumpkin puree.

• Add the flour and the milk powder to the bowl.

• Start kneading until a dough ball is formed. Once that is achieved, add the butter.

• Continue to knead until the butter is incorporated into the dough.

• Continue to knead until the dough passes the window pane test.

• Oil a bowl and transfer the dough into it, cover it with a cling wrap and put a wet towel over the cling wrap. Let the dough proof until it is double in size.

• Slightly flour the table top. (I like to slightly oil the table top instead.)

• Transfer the dough onto the table top.

• Roll the dough out into a long rectangular shape (horizontally).

• Fold the dough into 3 by bringing the right part onto the centre part followed by the left.

• Then roll the dough out again into a long rectangular shape (vertically) and fold into 3 again.

• Do this process at least 6 times (alternating between vertical and horizontal roll-outs) to get the 'peeling' effect in the finished buns.

• Once this is done, cut the dough into 15 pieces.

• Roll these pieces into dough balls.

• Cover them with cling wrap and let them rest for about 15 minutes..

• Grease your pan (which should be big enough for the 15 dough balls). You can use a square pan, a round pan or even a bundt pan.

• Place these dough balls into the pan.

• Cover them with cling wrap and let them proof until double in size.

• Break an egg into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon milk to it. Beat the egg and brush the dough balls with the egg mixture.

• Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of the dough balls.

• Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 175 deg C for 20-25 minutes.

• Remove the buns from the pan immediately after baking and let them cool down on a wire rack.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Strips with Capsicum

 

Sometimes we run out of ideas on what to cook. And yet we have to cook. We have to put those dishes on the table by lunch or dinner time. By looking into our fridge and freezer on what we have can certainly give us ideas. This is precisely what happened to me. The things in my fridge and freezer can even give me last minute inspiration to create and cook new dishes for my family The Sweet and Sour Chicken Strips with Capsicum is one such dish. It is easy and fast to cook. It is also delicious to the palate.

Ingredients:

• 250 g chicken breast meat
• 1 tbsp potato starch
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 150 g capsicum, cut into strips
• 1 tsp sugar
• 5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic

Method:

• Cut chicken into thin strips.

• Season with 1 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper for 30 min.

• Mix all flours and add them to chicken strips. Ensure they are well coated with the flours.

• Deep fry the chicken strips till they are golden brown & crunchy. Remove them from the wok and set them aside.

• Remove oil from the wok leaving behind 2 tbsp.

• Saute the garlic till fragrant.

• Add the capsicum to the wok and give them a quick stir. We want to maintain the crispiness of the capsicum.

• Add rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and sugar to the wok and let it boil.

• Add the fried chicken strips and give them a quick stir. Remove them from the wok.

• Serve with rice.

Red Bean Paste

 

Red bean paste are used as fillings for pau (Chinese steamed buns), breads and buns, sesame balls, sweet potato balls, Chinese pancakes, Japanese pancakes (Dorayaki), mochi and mooncakes. We can buy ready-made red bean paste from shops selling baking ingredients or we can choose to make it ourselves. However, we cannot control the sugar level in those store-bought one. So, usually I choose to make the paste myself. Some people like their paste to be very smooth while others prefer theirs somewhat rough with visible broken up red beans.

Ingredients:

• 200 g red beans
• 1 litre water
• 150 g sugar or to taste
• 35 g cooking oil (preferably corn oil)
• 20 g glutinous rice 
• 4 tbsp water          
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Wash and soak the red beans overnight.

• The next day boil 1 litre of water in a pot and add the soaked red beans to the pot. Check constantly to ensure that the water does not dry up. Top up the water if required. Boil the red beans till they are soft. (I use an electric pressure cooker to cook the red beans.)

• Wait for the red beans to cool down.

• Use a blender or grinder to blend or grind the red beans until it is thick, smooth and free of any lumps.

• Sieve the blended red beans. (I did not as I have a very powerful electric grinder which grinds the red beans till very smooth.)

• Transfer the puree to a non-stick pan.

• Mix the glutinous flour with water. Stir and ensure that the flour is dissolved.

• Add sugar, oil, glutinous flour solution and salt to the pan. Stir till all the ingredients are mixed evenly with the puree.

• Turn on the fire and cook the puree over medium heat. Stir the puree all the time to ensure that it does not burn.

• The puree will be reduced as it is cooked.

• The paste will be ready when it becomes smooth and shiny.

• When cool, you can cling wrap and freeze it till you need it.

Black Sesame Seeds Swiss Roll

   

   

 

We can make many versions of Swiss roll - pandan, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, orange, matcha, etc and fill it with whatever filling that we like - chocolate ganache, cream cheese, fresh cream, strawberry jam, kaya (egg custard), red bean paste, marmalade and many more. Whatever flavour or fillings that we use, the Swiss roll which is a type of sponge cake is light, soft and moist. It is good especially for tea time.

This round I decided to experiment with black sesame seeds in the batter. While baking the smell was fantastic and permeated my whole house. The Swiss roll turned out as expected - light, soft and moist. I filled it with whipped cream and a bit of sugar. 

Ingredients:

For the Meringue
4 egg whites (Size - Grade B / Weight of egg is 65 g with shell)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
60 g castor sugar

For the Batter:
4 egg yolks
20 g castor sugar
1/4 tsp salt
45 g oil (I use corn oil)
40 g whole milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
65 g cake flour
7 g milk powder

15 g black sesame seed

For the Filling:
120 g whipping cream
20 g powdered sugar


Method:

Making the Swiss Roll Batter:

• Put a tray of hot water (for steam bath) into the oven (below the rack on which you put your baking tray). Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Centigrade. (Adjust according to your oven.)

• Line a rectangular pan (10 inch x 14 inch) with a good quality parchment paper. (This is to ensure that the cake will not stick to the parchment paper.)

• Wash the sesame seeds and toast them in a pan without oil. Let them cool down. Then grind them, the fineness according to your preference. Set aside.

• In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg white with a hand mixer over low speed. (Please ensure that your bowl and beaters are dry and have no traces of oil otherwise the egg white will not rise.)

• Once large bubbles are formed, add the cream of tartar.

• Whisk till small bubbles are formed.

• Add sugar gradually in 3 batches.

• Whisk the egg white till stiff peak.

• Once stiff peak is achieved, set the meringue aside.

• In another mixing bowl, add in the egg yolks, sugar and salt. Whisk until they are creamy.

• Add the oil and continue to mix until they are well combined.

• Add the whole milk and vanilla essence. Whisk to mix them well.

• Sieve the cake flour and milk powder.

• Mix the ground sesame seeds with the cake flour and milk powder. Mix till they are evenly combined.

• Add the flour, milk powder and ground sesame seeds to the egg yolk mixture.

• Mix until they are well combined and the batter is smooth.

• Take 1/3 of the meringue and add to the batter. Use the whisk to mix the meringue with the batter gently, taking care not to deflate the meringue.

• Add another third of the meringue into the batter. Gently mix it with the batter.

• Add the remaining meringue and gently fold it into the batter using a spatula.

• Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread it evenly with a spatula.

• Drop the pan onto the counter-top from about 1 foot high to break out any large bubbles. Repeat this 2 to 3 times.

• Bake in the oven at 160 deg C for 20 minutes until the cake surface is golden brown. Do not over bake or the cake will crack when you roll it later.

• Once the cake has baked, remove the pan from the oven.

• Drop the pan from 1 foot high onto the counter-top to prevent shrinkage of the cake.

• Remove the cake from the pan onto a wire rack.

• Put another sheet of parchment paper on the cake and invert it to remove the parchment paper below.

• Let the cake cool down completely on the wire rack.

• While waiting for the cake to cool down, whip the cream with the powdered sugar till it is stiff. (Test for sweetness. Add more sugar if the cream is not sweet enough for you.)

Filling and Rolling Up the Swiss Roll:

• Cut 3 shallow slits (about 1 foot apart) at an angle across the cake at the end from which you will start rolling the cake. (This is to aid in the rolling of the cake i.e. to ensure that it does not crack when you start rolling it.)

• Spread the cream evenly on the cake.

• Roll the cake and wrap it in the parchment paper. Put the roll into a plastic bag or cling wrap it to prevent dryness.

• Keep the roll in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

• After 3 hours, remove cake from the refrigerator.

• Remove the plastic bag or cling wrap and parchment paper and slice the roll.

• Serve chilled.

Buns with Red Bean Paste Filling

     

     

I bake all sorts of buns - plain ones, those with savoury fillings like chicken cocktail, sambal ikan bilis, dried potato curry and sausages and those with sweet fillings like chocolate chips, red bean paste, mung bean paste and pineapple jam to name a few. As a result, my children are never bored with home-baked buns. And the buns run out so fast. This gives me the inspiration to bake often and to experiment baking with different types of fillings.

The red bean paste is exactly the same as that used in pau. You can buy it from shops selling baking ingredients. However, I prefer to make it as I can be assured of its purity.

Ingredients:

Red Bean Paste: (Note: there will be a balance after using the paste for the buns as I usually do more to make other things like pau.)

• 200 g red beans
• 1 litre water
• 150 g sugar or to taste
• 35 g cooking oil (preferably corn oil)
• 20 g glutinous rice 
• 4 tbsp water          
• 1/2 tsp salt

Buns:

• 325 g bread flour
• 30 g sugar
• 7 g yeast
• 1 egg
• 7 g salt
• 1 egg
• 160 g milk
• 50 g butter

Method:

Red Bean Paste:

• Wash and soak the red beans overnight.

• The next day boil 1 litre of water in a pot and add the soaked red beans to the pot. Check constantly to ensure that the water does not dry up. Top up the water if required. Boil the red beans till they are soft. (I use an electric pressure cooker to cook the red beans.)

• Wait for the red beans to cool down.

• Use a blender or grinder to blend or grind the red beans until it is thick, smooth and free of any lumps.

• Sieve the blended red beans. (I did not as I have a very powerful electric grinder which grinds the red beans till very smooth.)

• Transfer the puree to a non-stick pan.

• Mix the glutinous flour with water. Stir and ensure that the flour is dissolved.

• Add sugar, oil, glutinous flour solution and salt to the pan. Stir till all the ingredients are mixed evenly with the puree.

• Turn on the fire and cook the puree over medium heat. Stir the puree all the time to ensure that it does not burn.

• The puree will be reduced as it is cooked.

• The paste will be ready when it becomes smooth and shiny and it can be kneaded into balls.

• When cool, weigh and knead the paste into balls. (My bun dough weighs around 60 g and my red bean paste balls weigh 30 g each. If you prefer more filling, then you may increase the weight of the balls.)

• Keep the balls in the fridge till they are required.

Buns:

• Put all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.

• Knead till a smooth dough ball is formed.

• Add butter to the bowl.

• Continue to knead till window pane is achieved so that your buns will be soft.

• Transfer the dough to a clean greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a moist towel.

• Let the dough proof till it is double in size.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer it onto a counter top.

• Punch out the air from the dough.

• Knead the dough back into a round ball.

• Divide the dough into the number of buns you want. Roll each piece into a dough ball.

• Flatten each piece into a flat round dough.

• Put red bean paste ball in the centre of the dough.

• Bring the dough up to cover the red bean paste ball. Pinch the edge of the dough together to seal it.

• Roll the dough again into a smooth ball and place it on a cup cake liner. Place the cake liner on a baking tray

• Repeat till all the dough balls have been done.

• Cover the baking tray with a moist towel.

• Let the dough proof till double in size.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, apply egg wash (1 egg plus 1 tbsp of water) to the dough.

• Bake the dough in a pre-heated oven at 175 deg C for 18 min or till the buns are golden brown.

• When the buns are done remove them immediately onto a wire rack to be cooled down.

 

Garlic Butter Green Onion Bread (Flower or Loaf)

    

    

    

The Cheesy Garlic Butter Green Onion Bread looks very pretty just like a flower; it can be a good gift for relatives and friends. Besides the look it is one of the most delicious bread; it is both sweet and slightly salty, with the flavour coming from the garlic butter, green onion and cheese. Besides using a round pan to shape it like a flower, we can shape it into a loaf.

Ingredients:

Dough

• 325 g bread flour
• 30 g sugar
• 7 g yeast
• 1 egg
• 7 g salt
• 1 egg
• 160 g milk
• 50 g butter

Filling

• 25 g green onions
• 30 g butter
• 15 g garlic

Method:

• Put all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.

• Knead till a smooth dough ball is formed.

• Add butter to the bowl.

• Continue to knead till window pane is achieved.

• Transfer the dough to a greased clean bowl. Cover the bowl with a moist towel.

• Let the dough proof till it is double in size.

• While waiting for the dough to proof, prepare the fillings:
• cut the green onions into 0.5 cm length,
• chop the garlic,
• mix the green onions and garlic with butter,
• set the fillings aside.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer it onto a counter top.

• Punch out the air from the dough.

• Knead the dough back into a round ball.

• Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a dough ball.

• Flatten each piece into a flat round dough.

• Put a teaspoon of filling in the centre.

• Bring the bottom half of the dough to almost the top of the flat dough (like a semi-circle).

• Bring both sides of the semi-circle together. Pinch them together to seal them.

• Place the dough into the centre of a greased 8-inch round pan. (I use a pan with removable base.) (Work from the centre outwards.)

• Repeat this till all the dough balls have been used up.

• Cover the pan with a moist towel.

• Let the dough proof till double in size.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, apply egg wash to the dough.

• Bake the dough in a pre-heated oven at 175 deg C for 18-20 min or till the buns are golden brown.

• When the buns are done remove them immediately onto a wire rack to be cooled down.

    Or

• If you want to bake the dough into a loaf, after the 1st proof, punch down the dough to let out the air.

• Roll out the dough into a rectangle.

• Spread the fillings onto the dough.

• Cut up the dough into small rectangles to fit an 8 inch x 4 inch loaf pan.

• Stack the rectangular dough on top of each other.

• Transfer the stack into the loaf pan vertically.

• Cover the pan with a moist towel.

• Let the dough proof till double in size.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, apply egg wash to the dough.

• Bake the dough in a pre-heated oven at 175 deg C for 18-20 min or till the loaf is golden brown.

• When the loaf is baked remove it immediately onto a wire rack for it to cool down.

• Note: If you want a cheesy bread, just sprinkle grated cheese on top of the dough just before you bake or you may add the grated cheese to the filling.

Steamed Old Cucumber Stuffed with Minced Pork

    

Old cucumbers, also known as old yellow gourd or Lou Wong Kua, are cucumbers which have been left on the vine to harden and mature. According to Specialty Produce, they are excellent source of fiber to stimulate the digestive tract and are a source of iron to build the protein hemoglobin to transport oxygen through the bloodstream. The cucumbers also contain calcium to strengthen bones and teeth, vitamins A and C to reduce inflammation and boost collagen production, and vitamin B6 to ensure a healthy metabolism and central nervous system. In China, Old cucumbers are believed to contain anti-aging properties and are consumed to improve skin complexion.

We usually cook soup with the old cucumbers with pork bones, red dates and dry squids. However, it seems that they can also be braised, stir fried and pickled.  One day I ran out of ideas on what to cook for my family and looking at what I have in my fridge I decided to try steaming the old cucumber that I was gifted with minced pork. The dish turned out to be very flavourful.

Ingredients:

• 1 small pc old cucumber
• 100 g minced meat
• 1 pc Shiitake mushroom
• 1 pc 2-inch carrot
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp corn flour/tapioca flour
• Cooking oil
• 1 stalk green onions

Method:

• Clean the old cucumber and slice it into 1-cm rings. Use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. Arrange the slices onto a steaming plate.

• Soak the Shiitake mushroom till soft. Mince it and set aside.

• Remove skin of carrot and mince it. Set aside.

• Chop garlic and saute them till fragrant and golden brown. Set aside.

• Wash and cut the spring onions into 1/2-cm pieces. Set aside.

• Add the minced pork into a mixing bowl.

• Add the Shiitake mushroom and carrot to the bowl.

• Add the seasonings - light soy sauce, salt, pepper and sesame oil.

• Add corn flour.

• Mix the minced meat with all the ingredients till they are well-combined.

• Stuff the old cucumber rings with the minced meat mixture. Pack the meat tightly.

• Boil water in a steamer.

• When the water is boiling, put the plate of stuffed old cucumber to the steamer.

• Steam for 20 minutes or till the old cucumber slices are soft and the meat is cooked.

• Top the the steamed old cucumber slices with sauteed garlic.

• Sprinkle the green onions on top before serving.