Sunday, February 28, 2010

Lor Bak Go (Radish Cake) & Chicken Bao

Normally, Sunday mornings are a time when my family likes to go out and eat dim sum. But, since my parents are still on vacation and my sisters and I didn't want to miss the Olympic Men's Hockey Gold-medal Game, we decided to make dim sum at home! I had some zongzi in the freezer from Chinese New Year, so we steamed up a couple of those as well as some gai lan. But, we wanted to round out the meal with at least 2 other dim sum dishes. So, we chose Lor Bak Go and Steamed Chicken Buns.
Lor Bak Go

Ingredients:
- 2 cups rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 2 links of lap cheong (Chinese sausage), diced
- 3 cups daikon, grated
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- vegetable oil

Method:
1. Combine rice flour, tapioca starch and salt in a large bowl.
2. Boil the daikon in a heavy-bottomed pot for 10minutes. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid. Set the liquid and cooked daikon aside
3. Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the lap cheong, garlic and onions for 2 minutes. Set aside. (You do not need to wash the frying pan yet! You will use it to pan-fry the lor bak go)
4. Add the daikon to the flour mixture and slowly add in 3 cups of the cooking liquid. Mix until no dry clumps are visible.
5. Add the lap cheong mixture to the batter and continue to mix.
6. Pour the batter into a greased, steam-proof 8x8inch square, or 9inch round, tray. Steam for 45minutes. When finished cooking, let lor bak go cool completely.
7. Remove the lor bak go from the steaming tray and slice it into 1/2-inch slices.
8. Heat up the frying pan again to medium-high heat, adding more oil if necessary. Pan fry the lor bak go slices until crispy and golden brown on both sides.

This dish has got to be my sisters' most favorite dish at yum cha. We always order 2-3 servings of it when we go to dim sum. The final result of this recipe was gladly gobbled up by my Lor Bak Go loving sisters and they said that they could hardly tell the difference between mine and the ones we eat at the restaurant! *blush* They're so sweet...

But now, onto the chicken buns! My middle sister loves these, even more so than Char Siew Bao. Actually, she told me that she dislikes Char Siew because of the fatty, flubby and tendon-ness of the meat... too hard to chew, she says. So, with this in mind I decided to use a really nice chicken breast for the filling of the buns. The chicken breast had no flubby skin and no tendons or cartilage pieces, so there would be no risk of my sister getting picky about the meat... YAY!

Chicken Bao

Dough Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 3/8 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 egg white

Filling Ingredients:
- 250g chicken breast, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 1inch knob of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste

Method:
  • Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Blend in the margarine, until they are well incorporated.

  • In a separate bowl, mix together the vinegar, water and egg white.

  • Add water mixture to flour mixture, knead until dough comes together and is smooth.

  • Roll the smooth dough into a thick log shape, roughly 1.5 inches in diameter.

  • Cover dough in cling-wrap and let rest in fridge for at least 1 hour.

  • Make the filling: mince the chicken breast, garlic and onions and combine. Add in soy sauce and salt + pepper to taste.

  • When dough has rested, remove from cling-wrap and cut log into 10 equal sized pieces.

  • Roll dough into flattened circles, fill with 2 tbsp of chicken filling and shape the buns.

  • Prepare a steaming plate by laying cabbage leaves on it. Arrange the chicken buns on the cabbage leaves and steam the buns for 30minutes.

  • Enjoy!
  • 1. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Blend in the margarine, until well incorporated.
    2. In a separate bowl, mix together the vinegar, water and egg white.
    3. Add water mixture to flour mixture, knead until dough comes together and is smooth.
    4. Roll the smooth dough into a thick log shape, roughly 1.5 inches in diameter.
    5. Cover dough in cling-wrap and let rest in fridge for at least 1 hour.
    6. Make the filling by mixing together the minced chicken, garlic, ginger and onions. Then, add in soy sauce and salt & pepper to taste.
    7. When dough has rested, remove from cling-wrap and cut log into 10 equal sized pieces.
    8. Roll dough into flattened circles, and fill with 2 tbsp of filling. Shape the buns.
    9. Prepare a steam-proof plate by laying cabbage leaves on it. Arrange the chicken buns on the cabbage leaves and steam the buns for 30-40minutes.
    10. Serve!

    The buns were also a success! Even my youngest sister, who normally hates to eat bao bao enjoyed these buns and devoured TWO! Now, that's saying something. I quite enjoyed the buns as well. I liked the recipe because the dough was fairly simple to make, and didn't require yeast or raising time. Without the yeast to make the dough fluffy, the texture of this bao was more like a tasty noodle or a giant xiaolong bao. I will definitely have to bake this recipe again, for my parents... because I don't think there will be any left by the time they come back :P

  • Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Blend in the margarine, until they are well incorporated.

  • In a separate bowl, mix together the vinegar, water and egg white.

  • Add water mixture to flour mixture, knead until dough comes together and is smooth.

  • Roll the smooth dough into a thick log shape, roughly 1.5 inches in diameter.

  • Cover dough in cling-wrap and let rest in fridge for at least 1 hour.

  • Make the filling: mince the chicken breast, garlic and onions and combine. Add in soy sauce and salt + pepper to taste.

  • When dough has rested, remove from cling-wrap and cut log into 10 equal sized pieces.

  • Roll dough into flattened circles, fill with 2 tbsp of chicken filling and shape the buns.

  • Prepare a steaming plate by laying cabbage leaves on it. Arrange the chicken buns on the cabbage leaves and steam the buns for 30minutes.

  • Enjoy!
  • Mmm... the delicious bao. Hehehe... look at the mini one (on the right) I made with the leftover scraps :P it looks so gibbled

    Friday, February 26, 2010

    Daring Bakers February '10: Tiramisu

    Yay! I know I've been slacking off as of late... blame it on school, my up-coming nursing preceptorship, the fact that my parents are on a week-long cruise in the Caribbean (leaving me to legal-guardian to my two younger sisters) and a silly little thing called the Olympics. My time has just been getting eaten up!! But, thankfully I was able to complete this month's Daring Baker's Challenge.

    The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

    I wasn't too sure if I would actually get this challenge done at all! Since I had already had experience making tiramisu, I wasn't completely motivated to finish it... but, thanks to my sisters and their enthusiasm about my baking I forged ahead and even asked them to help me do some baking! Thank goodness for the motivation from my sisters, I actually found that making this tiramisu was relaxing and a good way to de-stress. I really enjoyed baking with my sisters, it was so much fun... and although I did micro-manage them a bit, we still had fun and I let them goof off from time to time.

    Tiramisu

    Recipe yields 6 servings

    Ingredients:
    For the zabaglione:
    - 2 large egg yolks
    - 3 tbsp sugar/50gms
    - 1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
    - 1/4 tsp/1.25ml vanilla extract
    - 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

    For the vanilla pastry cream:
    - 1/4 cup/55gms sugar
    - 1 tbsp/8gms all purpose flour
    - 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
    - 1/2 tsp/2.5ml vanilla extract
    - 1 large egg yolk
    - 3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

    For the whipped cream:
    - 1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
    - 1/4 cup/55gms sugar
    - 1/2 tsp/2.5ml vanilla extract

    To assemble the tiramisu:
    - 2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
    - 1 tsp/5ml rum extract (optional)
    - 1/2 cup/110gms sugar
    - 1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese (recipe below)
    - 36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
    - 2 tbsp/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

    Method:
    For the zabaglione:
    1. Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
    2. In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
    3. Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
    Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

    For the pastry cream:
    1. Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
    2. Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
    3. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
    4. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

    For the whipped cream:
    1. Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

    Prepare to Assemble:
    1. Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
    2. Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
    3. In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

    Assembling the Tiramisu:
    1. Working quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers (recipe below) in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
    2. Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
    3. Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
    4. To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

    Mmmm... coffee flavored zabaglione

    The creme anglais... also delicious

    Mascarpone Cheese

    Recipe yields 12oz (340g) of mascarpone cheese

    Ingredients:
    - 474ml (2 cups) whipping (36 %) pasteurized, preferably organic cream (between 25%-36%)
    - 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

    Method:

    1. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.

    2. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir.

    2. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl.

    3. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.
    4. Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

    Ladyfingers

    Recipe yields ~24 big or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers

    Ingredients:
    - 3 eggs, separated
    - 6 tbsp/75gms granulated sugar
    - 3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
    - 6 tbsp /50gms confectioner's sugar,

    Method:

    1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
    2. Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
    3. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
    4. Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.
    5. Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
    6. Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.
    7. Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.
    8. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.
    9. Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

    The light, fluffy and spongy batter

    My sister wanted to make a heart :)

    Being goofy and making a funny hand

    Classically shaped Tiramisu (done in an 8x8inch pan)


    Fancy shaped Tiramisu (done in a round springform pan)

    The Tiramisu was quite fun to make. Piping the cookies, dunking them in coffee, layering the cream and dusting with the dessert with cocoa powder... all that culminating in a deliciously sweet treat for my sisters and I to enjoy. The Tiramisu was so rich with coffee flavor, and even my youngest sister (who's not a big fan of coffee) loved it. The mascarpone was pretty easy to make and gave the dessert a very unique flavor. Very rich and creamy, but not overpowering the aromatic coffee flavor. It's too bad my parents are away on a cruise in the Caribbean right now, because I know they'd love this dessert :( But, I'm sure I'll make it for them again sometime... and I'm sure they have plenty of sweet treats for them on the cruise!

    Tuesday, February 23, 2010

    Go Canada Go!



    In preparation for the big Canada vs. Germany Olympic hockey game today I thought it would be nice to make a cake! I was trying to figure out what kind of cake would be perfect to showcase my Canadian pride, and I settled for red velvet. The red cake and luscious white frosting seemed like a perfect combination of flavors and colors for the event. I used the cake recipe from: Joy of Baking and I made my own frosting (see recipe below).

    White Frosting

    Ingredients:
    - 1 cup confectioner's sugar
    - 1 cup sour cream
    - 1/8 cup cream cheese
    - 1 1/2 tbsp coconut rum
    - 1 cup mascarpone cheese

    Method:
    1. Combine the cream cheese and the sugar. Mix until all the confectioner's sugar is no longer powdery but moistened by cheese
    2. Add in the sour cream, and continue to mix until lumps dissolve
    3. Add in the rum, mixing until well incorporated
    4. Add in the mascarpone cheese, combining well
    5. Use to frost your cake

    The cake didn't turn out as deep-red as I would have liked, and I think there was some strange reaction that the cake had to the parchment paper that I had lined my baking pan with. For some reason, the parts of the cake which touched the parchment paper turned slightly brown in color. This didn't really impact the look that I was going for with my cake, as it kind of gave a "red & white" look to the cake itself... which was unexpected, but it looked kind of cool.

    I baked my cake in a 9 x 13-inch cake pan and then divided it into 3 sections, length-wise. Once the cake cooled, I placed the pieces in the freezer for ~1hour to make slicing and frosting them easier. I then removed the cakes from the freezer and proceeded to divide each cake-piece into 2 layers.

    I frosted the cake between each layer and then covered the entire cake with the rich frosting. I then decorated the cake with the Canadian hockey team logo made out of chocolate and used red-tinted coconut flakes to make the cake resemble the Canadian flag. This was a lot of fun! I sure hope my friends like the cake... and that Canada makes it on to the quarter finals tomorrow.

    Monday, February 22, 2010

    Olympic Fever 2010



    Yay! I know it's been a while, but that's just because I've been busy finishing up my final semester of nursing school! I can't believe I'm graduating on April 30th! It seems like only yesterday I entered university with wide-eyes and a belief that school would never end.

    Also, I've been enjoying the crazy Vancouver Olympic festivities that are all around me! Living around the area, it's hard not to fall prey to the Olympic buzz and when you immerse yourself in the crowd, you can't help but get just a little bit excited. I had actually purchased a pair of tickets to the Olympics to watch my favorite winter sport... no, not hockey... CURLING! I seriously love that game... it's a blast to watch on TV and I was ready to take the next step and watch it in person. I've been counting down the days to watch the Olympic game with my dad, and enjoy downtown Vancouver.The event was held at the Vancouver Olympic Center, and it was great! There were 3 games going on at the same time... Great Britain vs. Sweden; Russia vs. Denmark; and China vs. Switzerland! It was hard to watch all at the same time, so I mostly focused on China's game. It was so energizing to hear the crowd go wild over curling. I thought that I was the only one who was enthusiastic about this game (because whenever I talk to my friends about it, they just don't understand why I'm so in love with the sport) but to be in a crowd full of people cheering on the skip and sweepers... I felt at home! These people understood the love of the game! In the end China beat Switzerland 8-6! It was a nail-biter, but I knew China would pull it off.



    After the game, I hung out downtown with my pop to watch the Olympic flame in the cauldron roar away. There were also booths around Robson for taking pictures with the Olympic torch, so we did that too. I would have liked to try the free zip-line, but the line-up was ~6hours long! Oh well, there were better things to do with my time than line up for a chance to zoom across the sky held by a rope. My dad and I really enjoyed the downtown atmosphere and the amazing lights and such... so, we decided to head back downtown the next day and bring along my sisters and mom. We walked around Robson and did a little window shopping (Olympic souvenirs are quite pricey); then we headed back to the Olympic cauldron. We took a different route to get to the torch... and it's a good thing we did, otherwise I wouldn't have seen the most awesome shrub ever!

    The most amazing shrub... I just had to take a photo.

    I sure hope the Canadian-pride and communal spirit that I saw downtown continues on even after the Olympics. It was a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'll never forget it.