Baked Malaysian Satay

On Sunday at the last minute I decided to try out this satay recipe that I've seen the night before. I have to say I did not follow the recipe completely due to lack of ingredients. Despite this, the meat turned out satisfying especially it was done in the oven and not bbq.

Chicken satay
Recipe by : Lauren's Kitchen

Ingredients A For Chicken satay :
Makes: 25-30 skewers
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
4 stalks lemongrass ( white part only)

15g ginger
25g galangal
15g turmeric

600g chicken meat
1 tsp salt
2tbsp sugar
1 stick lemon grass (to spread oil on satay while bbq)

Method:
1. Blend all the ingredients (A) . Mix the blended ingredients with chicken , add salt and sugar , combine well . Cover with cling paper and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hours or even over night if you want.
2.Soak Skewers in water while you are marinating chicken to prevent them to burning.
3. Thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers .
4.Grill it until cook using bbq method / grill in oven (180°c ,10-15min both side) , brush oil on top (both sides) using lemon grass stick .

served with peanut sauce and fresh vegetables

Using the stove to add some smoke flavour

Cottage Cheese Pastry Bites

An easy recipe from my neighbour. As this pastry is quite rich, best serve them on special occasions.

Cottage cheese pastry bites

Ingredients :-

Pastry
200gm All purpose flour
200gm Butter, cold
200gm Cottage cheese
a pinch of salt

To glaze
Egg wash

Toppings (optional)
Grated cheese of your choice
Cumin seeds



Method :-

1) Pre-heat oven at 180°c

2) In a bowl, combine all pastry ingredients and knead until just combine. Don't over work it.

3) Let dough rest in fridge for 15 mins.

4) After 15 mins. roll out dough to thickness of 0.5 - 1 cm. cut into shapes that you wish.

5) Glaze pastry with egg wash.

6) If using, sprinkle your choice of toppings all over pastry.

7) Bake in oven for about 18 mins. or until golden brown.

Walnut Meringue Pie

go to Zserbo.com for the recipe and detail instructions for this delicious pie.

I am obsessed with this pie, particularly the pastry. It is light and fluffy.  When walnuts were in season, I was making it every weekend.

As you can compared with the recipe link provided above, I have tweaked the recipe to what I have in the pantry and since then I have been making it based on my tweaked version.

Fanta slice { Fanta szelet }

Yup, Fanta as in the orange soda.  As strange as this sound, it does work. This should be sit in the fridge at least overnight for best taste.


Fanta Slice { Fanta Szelet }

Chocolate sponge cake layer :-
3 eggs , medium-sized, separated
3 heap Tbsp sugar
3 heap Tbsp plain flour
1 level Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 level Tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt 

Cream layer :-
200ml whipping cream
250g cottage cheese, room temperature
1 zest of lemon
100g powdered sugar, or to taste
1 Tbsp gelatine powder  
  
Orange layer :-
1 can x 333 ml Fanta brand orange soda
40g pudding powder
1 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp powdered sugar , or to taste.

Processes :-

Chocolate sponge cake (can be made in advance, freeze and thaw a day before serving)

1) Pre-heat oven at 180˙c.

2) Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. set it aside.

3) In separate bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and and mix gently until will combined.

4) Take 1/3 of the stiff egg white and add into chocolate batter to loosen it a little. Then fold in carefully the remaining stiffen egg white until well combine.

5) Great baking pan (  18x20cm ) and lined with baking paper . Pour in the cake batter . Bake for 12 mins or until the skewer comes out clean.

6) Let it cooled fully.

7) Once cake is cooled, start preparing the room temperature cottage cheese. Use a hand blender to blender the cottage cheese to get rid of lumps. Add a little of the whipping cream to help loosen the cottage cheese a bit.

8) Once cottage cheese is smooth, set it aside. In another bowl, start whipping the cream until half stiff. Then add in powdered sugar, cottage cheese and lemon zest until well combined.

9) Add in the preped gelatine* . Mix well . pour it over the cooled cake. Level the cream.


10) For the orange layer, take about 100ml of the soda and mix with the pudding powder.  Let it sit.
Meanwhile, heat up the remaining orange soda with lemon juice and sugar. When this is hot enough. pour in the earlier pudding-orange mixture, stir constantly until it thickens , just like making instant pudding. Once orange pudding is thick enough, set it aside to cool a little before pouring it over the cream layer. Level it out.

11) Let the assemble cake sit in the fridge over night before serving.

CNY Snack : Peanut filled pockets { Kok Chai }

We're 11th day into Chinese New Year but these deep-fried snacks had finished long ago! :D

These turned out as I remembered, crispy with sweet peanut filling. I couldn't stop munching on them.

Kok Chai

Recipe via Malaysian Chinese Kitchen
serves :  32 mini puffs

Ingredients

For dough

300g all-purpose flour 

0.5 tsp salt  

120ml vegetable oil 

160ml water

For Peanut Filling

½ cup (75g) raw peanuts 

2 tbsp (18g) sesame seeds  

¼ cup (53g) sugar

• Instructions
  

  Filling

  1. Toast peanuts in a small fry pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and allow peanuts to cool. Coarsely chop or grind peanuts.
  2. Toast sesame seeds in the same pan for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly brown.
  3. Combine peanuts, sesame seeds, and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside.

  Dough

  1. Combine all-purpose flour (rice flour, if usinand salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour vegetable oil into the well. Mix with a spatula. Slowly add water a little at a time to form a soft, non-sticky dough. You may or may not require the full ⅓ cup (80ml) water.
  2. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a clean work surface for 3 to 4 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove dough from the bowl and shape into a cylinder about 12 inches long. Cut dough into 16 equal size pieces.

  Forming the Mini Puffs

  1. Take a piece of dough and shape it into a circle of about 2½ inches in diameter by rotating and flattening the edges. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
  2. Fold the dough into a semi circle. Seal by pressing and pleating the edges together. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

  Frying the Mini Puffs

  1. Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a wok to fry everything at one go or a small saucepan to fry in batches.
  2. Deep fry mini puffs over medium low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and allow mini puffs to drain in a metal strainer.
  3. Allow kok chai (mini peanut puffto cool completely before storing in air tight containers for up to 2 weeks.
   

Handmade pasta

Hungary's Annual National Cake 2016

photo : https://www.facebook.com/gregory.iron.photography/

Every August 20th, Hungary introduces two new winning National cakes (one non-sugar option) on the occasion of her founding day by Saint Stephen. You can read more about the winners on Daily News Hungary.

photo : cukrasz.net

Each year we make a point to try the winning cake on the actual day of the introduction. The pumpkin seed cake white chocolate ganache (named “Green Gold of Őrség”) was unique. I liked the pumpkin seed flavour in the cake as well as in the crispy praline. The white chocolate ganache compliments the cake and raspberry jelly beautifully. I will buy this again definitely!

re at: http://dailynewshungary.com/cake-hungary-2016/

Saint Stephen

Read more at: http://dailynewshungary.com/cake-hungary-2016/