Marmite Chicken

I grew up with Marmite. My mom would make soup or add it to congee or rice and it was the best, there was no need for any other dishes or sides, just a tiny spoonful of Marmite.


What is Marmite? Read about it here Wikipedia

Ingredients:

2 Chicken thighs - cut into bite-size
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp oil

Sauce

2 tbsp Marmite

1 tbsp maltose

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp light soya sauce

dash of pepper and chicken stock granules

100 ml water

Method:

Heat oil and add in chicken pieces to brown. Sprinkle salt and pepper and turn chicken when it is browned on one side. Brown the other side.

Add in the sauce ingredients and cook until sauce has thickened.

Serve hot with white rice.

Serves

Pumpkin Pocket Cookies

This recipe is from Marcy Goldman's - A Passion for Baking and she described these cookies as gem which are big, soft and pillowy old-fashioned affairs. I have made them smaller than what was called for in the recipe. Yes, these cookies are sort of like a mini pumpkin cake which is nicely spiced and gorgeous in color. Like any other american cookie, a sugar glaze is smeared or drizzled on, but then, it's me again, who does not like the sugar glaze for the added calories, did not have glaze for my mini cookies.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp white sugar

1 1/3 cup firmly packed browned sugar (i use only 1 cup)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened or shortening

1 large egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice(which is ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins, plumped and dried

Icing

3 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tbsp cream cheese - softened

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Water, as required to make soft icing consistency or glaze that holds.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 f. Stack two baking sheets together and line top sheet with parchment paper or with silicone silpat.

In a mixer bowl, cream both sugars and butter(or shortening) until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and pumpkin puree and blend well. Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon and, when almost blended. fold in raisins.

For each cookie, drop large gobs of dough about 2 - 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. (i made mini, so i used the tiny ice-cream scoop)

Bake for 15 - 17 minutes (12 = 15 minutes for the minis) until cookies are firm.

Cool well on wire racks before icing.

In a small bowl, whisk together Icing ingredients to make a smooth glaze.

Smear or drizzle over almost totally cooled cookies and let set.

Serves

Steamed Green Apple Dessert

These tiny green granny smith apples came from a friend who has a tree. They were so tiny and cute and they fitted these chinese tea cups perfectly. The taste was unbelievable, imagine a tangy and sweet red bean paste acting together to give a lip-smacking dessert.


Ingredients:

Granny Smith Apples

Red Bean Paste

Chinese Tea Cups

Method:

Cut the tops of an apple and core the center.

Fill the cored center with red bean paste and place the top back.

Put into a chinese tea cup.

Repeat with the rest of the apples and steam on high heat for 30 minutes.

Serve hot as a hot dessert after a chinese dinner.

Serves

Flower Squid

These are one of the all-time great appetizers which can also be served as hors d'oeuvre. Not only are they pretty to look at, they are sumptously delicious. i have included them in my Dim Sum List and also as a special item for Steamboat.

Ingredients:

1 lbs medium size squid - cleaned without the tentacles

1/2 lb of shelled raw shrimps - dry thoroughly

1/2 lb of ground pork

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp cornstarch/tapioca starch

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp water

1 stalk spring onion - chop fine

cornstarch/tapioca starch for dusting

Method:

Cut the squid into 1 inch rings and cut 1/2 inch slits to one edge of the ring.

To prepare the filling:

Chop the shrimp and ground pork until a very fine texture.

Add in soya sauce, fish sauce, pepper, sesame oil and sugar. Mix in thoroughly.

Add water to the cornstarch/tapioca starch and salt. Stir to dissolve the salt.

Add cornstarch mixture to the shrimp and pork and stir vigorously to make a paste.

Add in the spring onions.

To fill the squid:

Dust the inside of the squid ring with cornstarch/tapioca starch.

Fill the squid ring from the top which is the unslit side. Put filled squid onto a greased plate and steam on high heat until cooked.

If serving as a dish, make a sauce with the juice from steaming and thicken the juice with a cornstarch/tapioca solution and a dash of shao=xing wine.

As an appetizer or finger food - serve with sweet chilli sauce

Serves

Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins waft the most incredible aroma as they bake. This recipe makes tiny, not-too-sweet, pop-in-the-mouth mini muffins that are somewhere between a muffin and a cake in texture. The final product is a delectable little morsel that is totally luscious.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp pumpkin spices

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice and cinnamon.

Mix the wet ingredients - sugar, pumpkin, oil and eggs, beat lightly.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold in until all the dry ingredients are well blended.

Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop batter into prepared mini muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated oven 350 F for 17 - 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when gently pressed with fingertips.

Serves

Coin Pumpkin Bread

As promised, more pumpkin recipe. This time it is making bread with pumpkin. It is so rewarding, the bread is soft with the most beautiful tinge of yellow. To have a more evenly brown top, make sure the dough is rolled as even as possible, unlike mine, some were taller, so they were more brown.


Ingredients:

1 cup cooked pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp powdered milk

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

Enough water to make a nice dough

Glaze

1 egg yolk plus 1 tbsp water

Method:

Put the ingredients acording to the order in the Bread Machine bowl.

Select the dough function and press 'start'.

Let the machine churn and using a spatula, aid the loose flour to be churned up by the machine. Add a tbsp of water at a time so that all the loose flour is no more visible.

As soon as a dough is formed (My breadman will rest for 20 mins, for other machines, press pause and let dough rest for 20 mins). The machine will beep when dough is ready.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 2cm. Divide the dough into small pieces with a round cookie cutter. Try to divide the dough as even as possible, so that the bread won’t come out some part burnt while other part are not even cooked. Arrange them in tube pan.

Brush the top with egg glaze and rest for about 15 - 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 180C/350F.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Serves

Scallion Pancake

I have not made 'roti canai' since i was able to get the frozen ones from the asian stores. They come in plain and with scallions but i found that making the scallion ones with this recipe is so easy and tasted better. These pancakes freeze well, so when there are scallions in abundance, make some and when you feel like having a pancake, just remove from freezer and throw one on to a hot pan. Please do watch this video to have clearer view on how to make these pancake - Scallion Pancake I, Scallion Pancake II and Scallion Pancake III

Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup room temperature water

Shortening for spreading

Scallions - cut fine

Salt to taste

Method:

Put 3 cups of flour in a big mixing bowl, make a well in the center and pour 1 cup hot water into it.

Using a wooden spoon or a chinese rolling pin, stir to mix and add in the room temperature water a little at a time, until no more loose flour is visible and a dough is formed.

Cover dough with a damp towel and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, knead dough until smooth and elastic. Leave dough covered to rest again for another 30 minutes.

After resting, flour the pastry board and roll out the dough as thinly as possible.

Spread softened shortening onto the rolled dough and sprinkle generously with salt, then the scallions.

Roll the dough up into a swiss roll.

Using your palm as a guide, pinch off a piece of rolled dough, the size of your palm and then pinch the ends to seal. Place one end on your palm, and press down the other end to make a disk. Line this disk to rest and proceed with the next piece. you should have 10 pieces or more if your palm is smaller.

Take the first disk and roll it to a very thin circle. If the dough is resisting, leave this to rest and continue with the next one and so forth. (pancake can be frozen for later serving)

Heat a frying pan with a little oil on medium high heat. Drop a piece of pancake in and as soon as the pancake gets set, flip it over. Fry until it is golden brown.

When pancake is done, using a chinese rolling pin, hold the pancake down about 1 - 2 inches from the edge, then using a spatula, push in the edge of pancake to the rolling pin. This will break up the pancake and makes it flaky.

Serve hot.

Alternatively:

you could divide down into 10 portions and roll 1 portion at a time, spread with shortening, salt and scallions.

Roll up like a swiss roll, then coil it up and tuck the ends in. Rest, then roll into thin circle.(pancakes can be frozen for later serving)

Fry as above

Serves