Daring Bakers November Challenge...

The second daring baker's challenge!! And this time, it's savoury!!! Woohoo!!! i dun have much of a sweet tooth so am especially delighted!!!! I always have to look for friends to help finish sweet stuff...but this time, i can eat everything myself....just kidding!! Sharing is caring....

anyways!! back to the recipe!!! So what have we been discussing for the past month???
Tender Potato Bread!! And everything it has to do with the recipe...including the type of potato, flour, amount of various ingredients, kneading technique, different ways of shaping the loaf...i tell u, it's such fun to be a daring baker!!!

the kneading is quite a challenge...as some fellow DBers commented, the dough felt like Grandma's flabby arms!!! Gross description...but true!!!
I actually gave up kneading...cos i just couldn't do anything to it...and tot if i left it to raise a little longer, it should be fine.. :P
thankfully it was..!!! This time round, the recipe was quite versatile and we were allowed, and encouraged to come up with variations in shaping and topping the loaf as long as it remained a savoury bread...
I topped mine with onions rendered in chicken drippings, parsley, italian herbs and seasalt.

Brought it to a picnic where it was very warmly received...only complaint was that there wasn't more!!!

The making of the bread... see the sticky threads in the mixing bowl..?

 

Paired up with a simple salad and smoked cod dip.

 

Thanks Tanna of my kitchen in half cups for choosing such a fantastic recipe!!! 10/10!!!
Click here to check out some of the other DB blogs!! (I say 'some' cos we have grown to more than 300!!! Woohoo!!) This month's really interesting!! :D

Easiest Pot luck Dish ever!!!

i was introduced to the concept of potlucks in Singapore...where my cell mates usually get together for christmas and new year's and being the generous souls they are, everyone brings something premium to share.....but cos we r all quite busy, we usually won't cook the dishes...most probably we'll buy some famous dish from some famous hawker/ eatery...

and over here in adelaide, potlucks are even more regular affairs..usually standard fare for birthdays and any gathering for any reason...i love bringing something different everytime...usually savoury....

here's a really simple one which works really well for a number of reasons..

- minimal cooking involved!! just soak noodles in water and then when they soften, blanch in hot water!!
- vegetarian (dun have to worry about dietary constrictions...non-beef, pork eaters etc)
- low cost!!!
- no heating up required!!




this picture is a single serve in case you are wondering why it looks so small... :)

enough chattering...

here's the recipe!!!

Refreshing Mint Noodles

ingredients:
400g rice noodles (mee hoon)
3 dried chili, soaked and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs sugar
150 ml warm water
1.5 tbs lime juice
5 tbs fish sauce
2 carrots, finely shredded
1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
optional: finely shredded wooden ear fungus, 1/2 cup

topping:
1/2 cup crushed peanuts, lightly toasted

method:
soak noodles in water then soft.
Blanch in hot water, drain and set aside.
Combine the rest of the ingredients. Add to noodles. Leave in fridge to chill.
Top with peanuts when serving.

Easy!!!

New ingredients!

Chilis r usually quite expensive in adelaide..so when i saw this bag of green peppers on a table labelled 'hot', i got quite excited...the proprietor told me that they were spicy banana peppers and sold me the lot for 2 bucks!! What a bargain!!! hehehee!! i've used them in place of chili padis...and also ate them raw...a word of warning: they are fierce enough to induce tears!!


and this is smoked cod....


Asked the fishmonger how to cook it..and he said to just simmer in water or milk for 10 minutes and eat it just like that.
Well...i followed his instructions and was quite delighted with the results..a little on the salty side but quite nice...firm and flaky..
(Wei Hong, perhaps u can see if it's available in Melbourne??)

Anyone has a more interesting recipe for smoked cod??? :)

Yeast induced activities..

it's swoc vac...which means that i should be studying diligently cos exams r drawing near...but it also means that i m flying home for the holidays in less than a month's time!! WooHoo!!!

but the things which go through my mind are quite incredulous...for example, instead of worrying about my exams, i fret over the stuff in my fridge and pantry...!!!!

haaa...so i have been baking ...ALOT... just so i can use up the bottle of yeast in my fridge...

the first exercise was the foccacia several posts back..absolutely delicious...then i tried another foccacia but this time i added sun dried tomatos and olives (yes, Michelle, I m thinking of you!!)...BUT i left it to proof OVERNIGHT instead of the recommended 2-2.5 hours...wahahaha....errr...let's just say the end product tasted mildly of beer....!!
Next i tried making bagels...they were alright on the first day but probably not worth the trouble...and last night, with much enthusiasm and excitment and very food-bloggerishly taking pictures of every step, i made mixed fruit macadamia cinnamon rolls.....but cos i was so engrossed in drooling over the chocolate molten cakes on Deficent Chef, i left the rolls in the oven too long...and instead the lovely cinnamon scent i was expecting, it was distinctly woody...as in charred wood!! *sigh* the top tray was nearly black but the second tray fared slightly better.

:)

So no recipes for this post...just pictures from the mixed fruit macademia cinnamon rolls.. (yes..mixed fruit n macademias r on my 'have to use up before going home' list too!) and oh yeah....to everyone having exams soon, all the best...!!! We r nearly there!!!

Chwee Kueh and Chay tou kueh!!

A very dear friend was coming over for dinner and I asked her what her favourite dish was…her reply: "Chwee Kueh."

Me: "CHWEE KUEH??!!!!"

Friend: "Chwee Kueh."

For the uninitiated, chwee kueh is a savoury steamed rice pudding with salted radish.
It literally means 'water cake' in Hokkien.
The dish is quite simple so I was surprised that my friend has such a down to earth request! She’s from Taiwan so I thought Taiwan has chwee kueh too but i found out much later, she got hooked on it in Singapore.
In Singapore, chwee kueh can be commonly found in most hawker centres and many people have them for breakfast.
Here’s the recipe which I found from another food blog…this lady has many reliable recipes but a pity that she seemed to have stopped blogging...




We had more chwee kueh than toppings so we decided to make chay tou kueh (Asian/ Singaporean carrot cake) with the leftovers..(only cos we made a double batch of the chwee kueh...you won't have the same issue if u follow the recipe..)

The steps were pretty straightforward…heat up oil, fry garlic til fragrant, add chwee kueh, fry til light golden, add radish and eggs, season with salt n white pepper to taste.




Looks pretty authentic, no?? :D

First Daring Baker's Challenge!!

Here it is!! the october daring baker's challenge!!!

Bostini Cream Pie!!



Was it hard to make?? Not really…just that the number of eggs required in the recipe was mind boggling..at least for me…. :P I halved the recipe and used around 7 eggs...truly when u make a recipe that someone else has chosen that you get to learn more …in this case, how ‘restaurant type’ desserts are created…. I think on my own, i will not consider making a recipe which uses cream and 4 egg yolks to make custard..(isn't custard powder n milk enough???!! :P )
Basically the Bostini Cream Pie has 3 parts to it…a orange chiffon cake drenched with rich chocolate glaze sitting atop of rich eggy custard…
Served it to two different groups of friends..everyone was quite enthusiastic and gave positive reviews… i especially loved the custard…after cooking it, I couldn’t resist licking the spoon and pot clean!!

Mary of Alpineberry was the host this month...hop on over to her blog for the recipe and mouth watering pictures of the cream pie... :)

Focaccia bread

Ingredients
25g fresh yeast
3 ½ cups plain flour
2 tsp salt
5tbsp olive oil
2tsp sea salt

Dissolve yeast in 120ml of warm water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Sift the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast, salt and 2tbsp of oil. Add more water to make a dough.
Turn out on to a floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover with a cloth, and leave to rise in a warm place for 2 – 2 ½ hours until the dough has doubled in bulk.
Knock back the dough and knead again for a few minutes. Press into an oiled 25cm/10 inch tart tin, and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200 degree C. Poke the dough all over with your fingers, to make little dimples in the surface. Pour the remaining oil over the dough, using a pastry brush to take it to the edges. Sprinkle with sea salt
Bake for 20 -25 min, until the bread is a pale gold. Carefully remove from tin and leave to cool on a rack. The bread is best eaten on the same day but freezes well too.

Chin ting made it! I was surprised that the ingredients and steps are so simple! I am going to make lots of them with my left over flour before I return home! By the way, u can add herbs to the dough too! I am planning to add Italian herbs in it.. Try it!