Posted on

Homemade Ma Lai Go – 馬拉糕

Home Made Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake

I didn’t know what to make – besides knowing I wanted to make a cake. I’m no good at baking, so I opted for a steamed cake. The first one that came to my mind was the ma lai go which is a common cake that you’d get during dim sum. This is a simple recipe for a small batch, which was all I needed!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs beaten

First you cream the eggs and sugar together until it becomes “thick” and forms kind of “ribbons” from your whisk. This does take a long time, so use an electric beater or have lots of energy! Make sure you get your steamer ready as you need it right away! The steamer and everything has to be hot and ready – or the cake won’t rise and you’ll just get a block of cake.

Once the mixture is creamy, thick and frothy, then you’re ready to add in the flour. Mix the flour in gently until incorporated – do not over mix!

Then, just pour the batter into the container of choice. I used 2 small ramekins, which worked great for my purpose!

Steam for 30 minutes and you’ll know it’s ready when the cake starts pulling away from the sides. You can do the clean toothpick test too just to verify!

Serve hot/warm, and I just pulled my little cake out of the ramekin so you can see the great bubbles.

Posted on

Homemade Chinese Spicy Steamed Tofu

Home Made Spicy Tofu Recipe

Some night, I don’t know what to make – a quick and simple dish to go with rice would be tofu! I like to buy a medium firmness tofu as it’s most versatile. After you steam the tofu it because really silky, smooth and soft. As I only cook for 2 people, I either use half or even a quarter block of Sunrise Tofu which can be purchased from the grocery stores with an Asian aisle (or of course the Asian market). If you know how to handle your tofu, I recommend buying the soft or silken tofu for this recipe! It will become almost a savoury custard.

Ingredient:
1/2 block Tofu
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
dash of hot sauce

First, you rinse the block of tofu, and dry it well. The better job you do of drying it, the better the soy sauce will stick to the tofu as an end result.While the tofu is drying, set up the steamer. I then cut up my tofu into little cubes and arrange on a heat proof dish, and sprinkle the chili flakes on top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil so water doesn’t get into the dish while it’s steaming. While the tofu is steaming, prepare the soy sauce mixture by combining the soy sauce, maple syrup and hot sauce.

Steam the dish for about 13-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your tofu. Once it’s soft and heated through, it’s ready to go! Take the dish out of the steamer carefully and pour the soy sauce mixture over top. Serve hot and enjoy. The soy sauce taste really good over rice!

Posted on

Homemade Bor Lor Bao – 菠蘿包

Home Made Chinese Pineapple Bun Recipe

Ingredients (makes 4-6 mini buns):
Dough:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tbsp yeast
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg beaten
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
oil

Topping:
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp milk
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder

First, you make the yeast solution for the yeast to activate by mixing the yeast with a pinch of sugar, 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup warm water

Once the solution has become frothy and has doubled in size, you’re ready to start making the dough. Melt butter, then add milk to the butter.

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs to the flour and then incorporate the milk mixture and yeast mixture. Knead for a few minutes until a ball of dough forms. You may need to add more water or flour depending on the consistancy.

Once the ball of dough is formed, take another mixing bowl and grease the sides. Put some plastic wrap on the top – or a wet tea towel and wait for 2 hours for the dough to rise. In the mean time, you can make the topping as it needs some time to set in the fridge. To make the topping, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Then, add in the egg yolk with milk and mix again. Next comes the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Once this comes in, be sure to mix to combine only. Do not over work this mixture. Form into disks and refrigerate.

After you proof the dough, cut it up into the portion size you’d like your pineapple buns to be. Keep in mind they will rise again, so they’ll be bigger than you make them!

Once you got them portioned out, place the topping and place it on the bun with egg wash. Then, let them rise for a second time. You can score diamond markings on the top of the topping or just leave it – as the diamond texture simulates the look of a pineapple.

When you’re ready, bake in a 375F oven for 10-12 minutes when a toothpick can come out clean – then you’re ready to enjoy!

To get the shiny topping which I didn’t do, you can brush the top with some egg wash (beaten egg with some water mixture).

Posted on

Homemade Wheat Bread Roll

Home Made Bread Bun

I was on a soup and sandwich for a little while, and all I needed was 2 fresh rolls for lunch! So, I’ve made a little recipe to make either 2 “longer” rolls, or 4 buns.

Ingredients (Serving size 2-4 rolls):
1 package of yeast
1 cup Wheat flour
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

First, I activate the yeast by mixing the yeast into the warm water with some sugar. After about 10 minutes, it should become frothy – if it doesn’t, start this step again as the yeast didn’t activate.

I then prepare all the other ingredients for the bread in another large mixing bowl. If you’d like it all white bread, swap it out for whatever flour you would like! Add a pinch of salt into the flour when all the flour is mixed together.

Afterwards, incorporate the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and roll make it into a ball. If it’s too stiff, add some more warm water, and if it’s too sticky, add some more flour (of whichever kind you like). Knead the dough for a few minutes and shape into a ball and let it rise!

Once the dough has doubled in size, proof the dough (deflate the dough) and knead again for a little bit.

Then, form into rolls the shape and approximate serving size you’d like, and leave alone to rise a second time. Once it’s doubled in size again, just pop them into a pre-heated oven at 450F for 20 minutes

I cut a few slits on the top of my rolls before popping them into the oven for decoration. You can choose to do this step or not, or sprinkle poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or whatever you like!

>

Now, I got my roll to make a delicious sandwich for lunch! Was it worth it? I think so! 🙂 I got some delicious cheese and deli meat to complete this fantastic lunch. Making plain bread opens the doors for many ideas for sandwich making!

Posted on

Homemade Dou Fu Hua – 豆腐花

Home Made Dau Fu Fa with Gelatin – Soybean Pudding

This chilled dessert isn’t the traditional style, but this recipe is simple and is great for serving it cold with a simple ginger syrup.

Ingredients:
3 cups Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 package (1 tbsp) Gelatin
1/4 cup water

This simple recipe takes no time to make, but takes a lot of time to set. First, you boil the soy milk slowly as soy milk boils over really quickly. You do not need it at a full boil either to prevent the soy film.

Once the soy milk boils, prepare the gelatin mixture by dissolving the gelatin with the water. Mix thoroughly and then pour it into the soy milk.

I like to have my dou fu hua in little individual bowl, so I pour the solution into little bowls and place into the fridge for it to set for at least a few hours.

In the mean time while the bowls are setting up in the fridge, I like to make the ginger syrup so I can refrigerate the solution as well.

If you want, you can make this dessert the “traditional” way which can be served hot or cold! Here’s the Dau Fu Fa recipe!