Kuih Bangkit

A restlessness has been upon me as Chinese New Year approaches. The urge to bake and cook is strong. I resisted it no more. Yesterday, I made some Kuih Bangkit- a traditional Nonya Arrowroot Flour cookie. Last year, I could not find the elusive arrowroot flour and had to fall back on recipes that used Tapioca and cornflour instead. The cookies were hard. A few months back I chanced upon Arrowroot Flour by Bob's Red Mill while shopping at Henry's. I grabbed two bags full and stashed them away.....for Chinese New Year.

I truly miss my Ah Mah, my paternal grandmother. She made the most amazing Kuih Bangkit. Beautiful, white and melt in your mouth.CNY baking is a family affair. I remember coming home from school and rushing to the kitchen table. Most of the time I was relegated to dotting the eyes duty. A small saucer of red food dye with sticks of toothpicks were my tools. I patiently wait as my grandmother, my aunt and my mom, press balls of dough into the designs of the floured wooden moulds. A swipe of the butter knife, removes excess dough. A deft swift flick of the wrist, knocks the mould against the table top and out pops the cookies. The cookies are placed on the cookie tray where I give life (eyes) to rabbits, frog, fishes, birds or flowers. Regretfully, as I grew up, I never went beyond making the cookies to actually making the dough with Ah Mah. By the time I was in my teenage years and young adult, Ah Mah was living with third uncle and his family. I made fancy modern and western cookies. I received my tin of Kuih Bangkit from Ah Mah but stop making them with her. The trend of buying CNY cookies was beginning to take its evil root...... (a practice I abhor I let you know). Then I moved to the US. By the time I was ready to once again learn the secrets of making CNY cookies, Ah Mah was rendered bedridden by a stroke......My beautiful, gutsy, strong and funny Ah Mah is gone now but always remembered. I see her vividly as I use her Kuih Bangkit moulds. Wished I have her whisk.... ha,ha I can see her beating the egg yolks with sugar to a thick golden froth with the round coiled whisk in an up down motion.


Determined to succeed this year, I had my husband crack a fresh coconut for me which I patiently grated with my coconut grater bought at an Indian grocery store ( yes, another toy). Ordinarily, I would have just popped open a can of coconut cream. I put the precious grated coconut in a muslin cloth and squeeze the daylight out of it. Managed to only get 100ml of first santan ( coconut milk). Alas, I made to make up the difference with a carton of coconut cream. So continues my adventure....

Molten Chocolate Cake 1

I have been wanting to make Molten Chocolate Cake or Lava cake for awhile now. Over a period of time, I have collected and lost numerous recipes. So what's new, right? Just before Thanksgiving my cousin in Malaysia kindly gave me the recipe she uses - I Spy the appreciative comments on Facebook by her friends and asked for it. Of course, in real life, on Thanksgiving Eve, I am hunting for a recipe and forgets the one she gives me! This is one adapted from Bona Appetite Magazine a few year back.

I plan to try all the recipes and rate them. A talented young baker, daughter of my good friend C gave me two of the recipe she uses. All I know, boys come running when she makes them.....must be good, me thinks!

For now, the Bona Appetite recipe. I like this ease of this recipe. It is just one batter. In many recipe the lava/center is made separately. In the tradition of not letting things alone, I tried baking the prepared cake from frozen in addition to the original instructions for baking them freshly prepared and refrigerated. I think I like the texture of the bake from frozen. The convenience of having them in the freezer is tempting....

Frozen batter in ramekin, ready for instant gratification!

Makes 8

14 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cup (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

6 large eggs

6 large egg yolks

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

Method:

Generously butter eight 3/4 souffle dishes or ramekins. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Whisk in 3 cups of powdered sugar, then the chocolate mixture, then the flour. Transfer batter to prepared dishes, filling to the top and dividing equally. ( can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate)

Preheat oven to 425F. ( or 400F if using convection oven). Bake until batter has risen above the dish, top edges are dark brown, and centers are still soft and runny, about 15 minutes, or 18 minutes for refrigerated batter. Run a thin knive around the cake to loosen. Allow cake to rest 5 minutes. Using hot pad and holding the dish firmly, place plate gently on atop the cake and invert unto plate. Dust with powder sugar. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

NB

For Frozen batter - preheat oven to 375F( 350F convection) Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Smoky Spiced Eggplant

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 lb eggplant ( I used a large italian eggplant)

1 red onion, chopped

1 garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon finely minced or grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

3-4 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

1 green chilli, chopped

Method

You can prepare the eggplant in a number of ways. Scorch the eggplant over a medium flame or on the grill. Turning to make sure all sides are charred. Personally, on a work night, I just cut the eggplant in half, place eggplant on an oiled tray, cut side down and bake at 450F for 10 minute and then broil for another 5 minutes. This leaves me free to attend to other preparation work. Cool and then scrap out the flesh. Roughly chop the flesh.

While eggplant is in the oven, chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Slice and then dice the tomatoes. Half the chilli, deseed if desired and chop. Finely chop cilantro. Measure out the spices and salt.

Heat 2 tablespoon oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Cook until lightly brown. Add all the spices, salt and pepper, stir to combine and cook for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add chopped eggplant and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in chopped coriander leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.

Serve this to accompany a meat or fish curry. Last night I served it with Dry Pork Curry.

Dried Pork Curry

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin, cubed.

4 inches fresh ginger, coarsely grated

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced thinly

4 garlic cloves, smashed

2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

3 pieces cinnamon sticks

10 cardamons

6 cloves

2 1/2 tablespoon ground chilli

2 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon coriander

1 teaspoon salt

a few spring curry leaves

Method

Heat 2 tablespoon of oil over medium flame. Saute sliced onion until soft and translucent. Add garlic, cinnamon sticks, cracked peppercorns, curry leaves, the ground spices and salt. Saute until fragrant, stirring to combine and making sure it does not burn. Add 1- 2 more tablespoon of oil. Add pork tenderloin cubes. Stir to coat with spices and cook until cubes are brown. Stirring occasionally. Add 4 tablespoon of yogurt to the bottom of pan, deglazing the pan of the aromatics. Lower heat, cover and simmer until pork is tender and flavors develop, approximately 20 minutes. Remove cover and cook until most of gravy has evaporated.

Serve with rice and Smoky Spiced Eggplant

NB You can use beef, lamb or chicken in place of the pork.

Katsudon

The German adventure continues.......Schnitzel goes Eastern... becomes Katsudon!

Thanks to my talented German guest, I had a supply of cooked Pork Schnitzel in my fridge. Looking for an easy meal, I decided to use the schnitzel in place of pork katsu for Katsudon, a favorite Japanese meal of mine. I slice the schnitzel into 1/2 in strips. I laid the strips on top of the Katsudon sauce and served it over Japanese rice. Yum!

Tonkatsu

4 pork chop( or 4 precooked Schnitzel!)

Black pepper and salt for seasoning

2-3 tablespoon flour

1 egg, beaten

1-2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

Make shallow cuts along the rim of the pork chop to prevent curling during cooking. Pound the chops until thin. Lightly season both sides with black pepper and salt. Roll in flour, egg and lastly breadcrumbs. Fry until golden before turning over and browning the other side. Traditionally the chops are deep fried but I just pan fry mine.

Soup Stock

1 tablespoon sugar

100 ml Mirin

75-100 ml soya sauce

100 ml dashi (or chicken stock)

Put all liquid ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

NB. I used 100 ml soya sauce and found it too salty for my taste

Other ingredients

1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Saute onion slices until translucent. Pour over the liquid ingredients. Simmer until onion is soft. Put the sliced Tonkatsu (or Schnitzel) over the simmering sauce, keeping the shape of the Tonkatsu/ Schnitzel together. After a minute or so, pour beaten egg over the Tonkatsu/ Schnitzel. Cook until just set. Scoop one Tonkatsu/Schnitzel together with eggs and onions and gently placed over cooked rice. Top with more gravy if desired. Serve hot.

Pomegranate Pork Loin

The beautiful pomegranate in my garden inspired me to make this dish. This is the first time I have cooked a rack of pork, or at least I have not done so in a very long time. It made a nice change from rack of lamb.I use pomegranate syrup you purchase at middle eastern stores instead of pomegranate juice. It gives a deeper flavor without spending time reducing.

I had purchase the most perfect baby potatoes the size of large marbles at Trader Joe. A simple salad of romaine lettuce, topped with avocado cubes and cherry tomatoes tossed in creamy dressing complete the meal. I think the next time, will top the salad with a sprinkling of the jewel like pomegranate seeds.

Pomegranate Marinade:

2 ounces peanut oil

4 dried red chiles

4 ounces garlic chopped

4 ounces sliced ginger

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 cups pomegranate juice or pomegranate syrup

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

6 ounces tamarind paste

4 ounces brown sugar

2 tablespoons coriander, toasted, crushed

2 ounces soy sauce

Prepare the pomegranate marinade. In a saute pan, heat the oil. Add the chilies and cook for 15 seconds. Transfer to a deep casserole, and add the garlic, ginger, green onions, pomegranate juice, rice wine vinegar, pepper, tamarind paste, brown sugar, coriander, and soy sauce.

Directions

Place the pork rack in the marinade and let it marinate it for 3 hours or up to 2 days, refrigerated.

Remove the pork from the marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the marinade into 2 portions. Reserve.

In a saute pan, over high heat, add the olive oil and 1 ounce of butter. Sear pork until golden. Transfer to a preheated 350-degree F. oven and roast for 20 minutes, basting with half of the reserved marinade every 5 minutes. Slice the chops apart and continue cooking until meat thermometer inserted into the chops reads 150 to 160 degrees F, another 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the remaining half marinade to a boil and reduce until thickened. Strain. Whisk in 4 ounces of butter. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Reserve.

German Butter Cake

Along came a German girl..... "what do you mean they don't sell vanilla sugar? What country are we in? I do not believe they don't have it!" She scans the shelves going up and down the row. Shopping for ingredients....... This all started because my dear husband wanted a butter cake. We looked at cake recipes all day but nothing satisfied her. Finally she downloads a recipe from the internet from a German website.

"I need a cup she says." I handed her a set of measuring cups which she rejected. "We do not use those." I suggested a tea cup which I have come across being used in some old British recipes. Again, she turns the idea down."...Ah, this is perfect." "You are kidding me," I retorted ," A MUG!" I questioned her but she is adamant - a mug it is.

"The recipe is from a Grandma site, old fashioned. It must be good, it has a 5 stars rating." We go with the flow since she is the one making the cake.

German Butter Cake

2 Pig mug flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 eggs

1 Pig Mug whipping cream (1 small carton)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 mug sugar

Topping

125 gm butter

4 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 mug sugar

200 gm sliced almond

Method

Beat 1 mug sugar, 1 mug cream and 4 eggs together until light and fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Add 2 mug all purpose flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Beat until incorporated. Pour batter unto rimmed buttered cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 395 F/ 200C.

Meanwhile, melt 125 gm butter. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 cup sugar and 200 grams sliced almond. Stir to combine.

Remove cake from the oven. Spread topping in an even layer over the cake. Return cake back to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes until cake is cooked and topping is golden brown. Cake should pull away from the sides.

Observation

I was amused by this baking experience. I was expecting precise measurement and techniques. Instead I had this German girl downloading a recipe from the internet and then using the very precise Pig Mug to measure the dry ingredients! She does not sift the flour with raising agent, instead dump everything into the mixer. Guess what? It worked! The cake was delicious.

I learn the importance of vanilla sugar in German baking. The best I can establish it comes in 1 1/2 inch plastic package and is use very often the way we use vanilla essence, to add vanilla flavor to bake goods. Butter cake in the US is not what butter cake is in Germany. This was more like a sponge cake. In this version of Butter cake, the only butter was in the topping. I also learnt that when she ask for a hand mixer, she is asking for a whisk! I truly enjoyed the time I spent with my girl E baking.... although she has a strange way of slicing a piece of cake, don't you think?

For those of you who read and understand German, here is the link to the recipe http://www.ciao.de/Der_beste_Butterkuchen__Test_1205245

NB

It appears that there was the Pig Mug was equivalent to 1 cup in measurement.