Durian Puff

Durian Puff

It is durian season "NOW" so why not making use of the cheap and best-quality durians in town which u can pay just S$ 1 each... Yes, I bought some durians for S$1 each from one of those makeshift stalls which have been set up out of nowhere every time when durian season comes.

These cheap durians are of course not the very big ones and they don't usually give a very good "meat-seed ratio". I was thinking of making durian puff when I bought these durians. But at the end, my family ate all 6 of them before I had chance to keep for the puff. Look at how my little angel eats. This is the first ever durian feast for this 2-year old.

Fingers licking good

So I bought some more from Cold Storage and determine to make some durian puff. To my disappointment, the taste was not so good. A friend of mine wants to buy from me, so I must practise and refine my skill. It is the 1st time I've tried this puff recipe from the same book I've been talking about (see link). Wow!! It looks really good (I didn't steal these photos from books or internet, but this is really what I got, fresh from my oven). There is a big hollow inside the puff and it takes so much durian paste to fill it. It is quite successful in terms of look. I was "KS" a bit as I didn't want to add fresh cream into the durian paste. Some friends commented that the durian taste was too strong (coz have D24 in it). David, the professional baker, says that I must add fresh cream... next time. Yes, sir!

*I have checked out with those durian stalls bosses. They said more supply will come from Malaysia next week.......so look out for them!

Jin Du Pork Ribs

My mum taught me how to cook this dish many years ago and it has always been one of my most delicious dish whenever I have to cook for my guests. Super easy to prepare. Wash and season pork ribs with salt. Put ribs in corning pot or clay pot, add Black "ChinKiang" vinegar till half cover ribs, few slices of Ginger, 2 - 3pcs shallot & garlic, 1 - 2 slap of brown sugar. Bring it to boil then stew the ribs with very low fire for half an hour to 45mins till the gravy thickens and ribs become soft.

Basically, not much skill required. Patience is the key to this success. Most importantly, don't burn the gravy and make sure u turn the ribs often for the first 15 mins so the vinegar can evenly coat onto each rib so it'll taste the same and cooked at the same time.

Lo Mai Gai

A must-order item from your "Yam Char" menu. Usually it comes in mini "Lo Mai Gai" which they call "Chen Chu Gai". But the best one comes in the "adult" form - much bigger and very economical. Crystal Jade used to sell this during weekend but they took it off their menu about a year ago. They have also changed the "Chen Chu Gai" recipe with some dried scallop and less chicken ... so it is time to make my own...

It took me a few months to find the lotus leave in Singapore. Been to a few big wet markets (Bukit Timah, Jurong West, Bukit Badok) and all don't sell it. Pasir Panjang wholesale market mostly sell in kg (how to store and finish...). The only place to buy is Outram Park wet market @ Smith street.

Used 1KG glutinous rice to make 8pc (Big one). Bigger ones for my hubby who always complain "why so little". Some smaller ones for myself and my helper. I use chicken drumlet. Just dice it, fry with dry shrimps, dry mushroom and salted egg yolk. Season with black sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce and corn starch to thicken.

Wrap steamed glutinous rice (for 30 mins, water every 10 min) in a boiled lotus leave plus filling. Steam for 20 min. The fragrance from the lotus leave will fill the house. I froze them in the freezer. It is always ready whenever I need a quick "Yam Char" fix.

Turkish Bread stuff with Black Pepper Steak

Usually we take very light meals during weekends. I bought some Turkish bread from Cold Storage. I had some steak in the fridge and I just cut it into thin slices, and seasoned with salt, black pepper, soy sauce, garlic. Sizzled on a non stick pan for 1 - 2 minutes. Added lots of veg. and some self invented dressing (don't really remember what I used...), I recalled I used some of these: sweet sour magic sauce, miracle whip, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, sugar.

Not actually a light meal though. Certainly simple and delicious!

Dau Sa and Yam Paste Bun

I used the same sweet bun dough which I shared before: http://shiraschoice.blogspot.com/2008/05/bread-making-4th-attempt.html

I tried playing with the filling differently. I used home cooked yam paste wrap inside one more layer of red bean paste. Taste not bad at all. The rich red bean paste complemented the yam paste well... wow, freshly from oven, superb snack!

Steamed Meat Bau

Different types of Chinese bau dian (steam bun) are always those items that I really want to master and do well. So for years I've been searching and trying and yet still fail to find the right formula... To achieve a soft and bouncy bun dough is not that simple. I'm also kinda lazy and always try those recipes that require only one proving. "Old dough" method is always the professional way of doing it, but preparing it 2 days in advance is really "lay chei". Not sure where I could keep the bubbly and foamy batter. Should my hubby see it he would never try my bau.... so forget this method.


About 1 - 2 years ago after so many attempts, I decided to quit and just buy them from Crystal Jade (especially Char Siew Bau) or supermarket to satisfy my craving. Cox I never get it right especially the "Char Siew Bau". I did the filling well but failed to make a delicious bun (well, that's equally important as the filling).


This time round, as I had some filling left over from dumpling making, so I wanted to give it another try with the recipe from this book titled Chinese Dim Sum (in Picture by Wan Lee).


I got a fright when I see the final product... very very bad. Those Bau that I previously attempted to make at least still looked like a BAU, only not so soft as I compare to those bought from supermarkets. But... but this time round... they look like a cross breed of "Siu loong Bau" and "Steamed Bun".


OK, I must admit that I've failed badly once again. To make me feel less bitter, I should blame partly the cook book that I took reference from. Unlike other cook books which always calls for the use of yeast and I wonder why this author never use yeast but only baking powder. Aiya, the author claims that she's a professional "Dim Sum" Si Fu and has worked in many famous restaurants. So who am I to question??? I just followed ... so it turned out to be...





After tasting it, I found the texture rather like "San Jian Bau" (Fried meat bun). Ha! Ha! I was right. It turned out to be much better when I pan fried them. The skin is chewy and crispy only that u need to erase your memory that it is supposed to be a soft steamed BAU. It feels just right as the juice oozes through when u bite on it. My effort is not totally in vain after all!!!

Banana Chiffon Cake

Making chiffon cake without a mixer is a great challenge. I made this cake before I bought my mixer. This experience pushed me to make a quicker decision to buy one. So I "manually" whipped the egg white to stiff peak. According to the book, if you want to achieve a smooth and shinning egg white, u can't stop for a sec during the process. I was joking with my hubby that my forearm's muscle line is getting firmer and well toned after a few tries. Trust me it is good exercise and you'll perspire a lot in that 15 min whipping process.

I would like to repeat that this book http://shiraschoice.blogspot.com/2008/04/book-that-can-improve-your-baking.html is really good, because not everyone owns a mixer. It teaches you everything from the most basic. A Professional baker should be very versatile, knowing not only how to bake cake by using mixer but also how to switch to the "manual" mode... so this book brings you closer towards this goal.

Usually I see Orange, Pandan, Butter chiffon cake in the market but not banana flavour. I like banana and all sorts of food made with banana (except the sticky banana cakes which have very artificial banana flavour).

The most important thing in making chiffon cake is how u whipped the egg white and the way u fold in with the egg batter. It does affect the result greatly. If you know what I'm talking about, you must have failed before like I did. Oh, more than once, I whipped the egg white for almost 45 mins and couldn't get it right and needed to pour everything away and started all over again.

* The cake tasted good but the only regret I had was I didn't own a chiffon cake mould then. So I used a small non-stick bread loaf pan instead. It looked more like a loaf of bread than a chiffon cake. He he!


P.S. Pls leave a comment if you want me to share the recipe because it is written in Chinese. Need to use lots of brain cell to translate it.....very lazy.....

Cream Cheese Muffin

My girls helped me use the fondant to make the tiny roses and decorated these muffins. Although I prefer less and simple decoration, this is just what my girls like, very colourful... they kept adding the colour candy until I had to yell at them to stop... They enjoyed this decorative baking class conducted by mommy.

Yum Yum Por Law Pau

I was in my kitchen @ 12:30am last night enjoying my sweet success. Before that I was so restless as I just stood in front of the oven looking at the whole baking process that lasted for about 20 mins. I was really anxious to see how the crust cracked by itself while enjoying the fragrance from the oven.

"Por Law Yau" - freshly baked Por Law Pau with a thick slice of cold butter...so sinful... I almost cried as I slowly consumed it. Oh, I was so happy to hear and feel the cracking sound as I bit on and broke the crispy top and ... Gosh!.... the bun is super soft too. I couldn't believe I could make one at my own home....This has brought back many fond childhood memories - this was always my favourite pick when my mom asked me to choose a bread for my breakfast.

In HK cha chaan tengs, you can easily find this freshly baked bread being served during tea time. I went to one HK cafe at Aberdeen called "Kum Loong" (Golden Dragon), during my last visit in HK. Their milk tea as well as Por Law Pau are heavenly. A queue will form outside the cafe around 3:30pm and their bread will come freshly from oven trays after trays. If you have chance to go there, there are other "must try" for you: "Chu Chai Bau" (Piglet bun) and egg tarts.

I've tried this bread in many so called HK cafe in Singapore. I get disappointed most of the time. Of course Crystal Jade's is still my best choice as the taste is really close to the original HK Por Law Pau. But now I can crunch my thrust by baking one by myself ;> (blush, blush)...

A big thank to Eddy, my hubby's nephew, who is a professional baker in HK. When I shouted for help after the first few horrible failures http://shiraschoice.blogspot.com/2008/05/bread-making-2nd-attempt.html, immediately he gave me a very good recipe that leads to my success here.

Another Good Book - Bread Making

I bought another bread making book last week. The book title is "Tsang Mei Chi Teaching You How to Make Bread the Very First Time". And the small print on the book cover says, "Super Simple, the Most Fundamental, Sure Success."



I think it is a very well written book as it comes with simple, clear, intelligently written illustrations. The flow charts showing est. time for each and every process are really good. The whole learning process is complete with lots of photos.


For the start, I didn't want anything fancy, so I tried out the wholemeal Bread Loaf recipe and I'm very pleased with the result. It is soft and it tastes just like those bread you could get from the bakeries. We finish the whole loaf in 3 days and the last slice was still soft.





Then I tried out the Pullman Bread (Toast Bread/Sandwich Bread). I'm getting more confident at the end of each trial with very encouraging results. I even told my hubby and my kids that from now on all bread on our table will be home baked ..... hmmmmm.....maybe 80%......we'll see...

P.S. I'm also more familiar on how to operate my mixer and I've come to know how to do a proper stretch test and can tell when the dough is ready. The old saying "Practice makes perfect" is once again proven very right! So don't give up, guys!