Bak Zhang (肉粽)

A bundle of home-made dumplings wrap up with simple filling; fried minced meat and mushroom, this is the way my family like it. ;)

Rock Melon Sago Dessert (哈蜜瓜西米露)

This is my own version of Rock Melon Sago Dessert.
I'm submitting my post to Aspiring Bakers #20: Asian dessert buffet! (June 2012) hosted by Moon of Food Playground.

Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 rock melon (about 850g)
1/3cup water
1tbsp honey
40g sago

Steps:
1. Wash and drain sago.
2. Cook sago with water till sago turn translucent.
3. Drain and wash sago with cold water, set aside.
4. Remove skin and seed from rock melon.
5. Cut two slices of rock melon, diced it and set aside.
6. Cut balance of rock melon into big chunks.
7. Blend it together with 1/3cup of water till puree.
8. Strain puree and stir in honey.
9. Add in diced rock melon and sago.
10.Chill in fridge and serve.

Note: You can add more honey if you prefer sweeter, add more water if you prefer a more dilute puree. Instead of honey, you can boil some sugar syrup and
add into rock melon puree.

Kee Zhang (粽子）

It been ages I didn't make dumpling. So I started it off with this kee zhang, which is very basic. I'm very happy that everything turn out very well. I used 1kg of glutinous rice and it yielded 39 small dumplings. 39 dumplings wrapped and cook, 39 dumplings nicely cooked and I'm extremely happy. Hooray...success! :)

Orange Mixed Fruits Buns

Recipe

Ingredients
40g warm water
1tsp instant yeast
1/2tsp caster sugar
1tsp bread flour

250g bread flour
45g caster sugar
1/4tsp salt
95g orange juice
1 egg yolk (about 20g)
25g butter

70g mixed fruits

Steps:
1. Mix warm water, yeast, 1tsp bread flour and 1/2tsp caster sugar together, cover and set aside to prove for 10-15mins.
2. Combine bread flour, sugar and salt in a mixer and mix well at low speed.
3. Add yeast dough from step no.1, orange juice and egg yolk into the dry ingredients.
4. Knead at medium speed until it form a dough.
5. Add in butter, continue to beat until it form a smooth and elastic dough.
6. Cover dough and let it proof for 50mins.
7. Add in mixed fruits, hand knead until well combined.
8. Cover dough and rest for another 10mins.
9. Divide dough into 9 equal portions, shape each dough into round ball.
10.Arrange it on a greased tray.
11.Cover and leave it to proof for 45mins until it doubled in size.
12.Preheat oven to 190C.
13.Bake in a preheated oven for 10mins until buns is brown.
14.Remove buns from tray, place it on a wire rack and brush surface with butter while it hot.

Melt & Mix Moist Chocolate Cake

Recipe

Ingredients
Chocolate cake:
(A)
200g cake flour
30g cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder

(B)
200g butter
40g light brown sugar/brown sugar
140g caster sugar
1tbsp instant coffee powder
1/2tsp salt
1/2cup hot water
1tbsp golden syrup
100g dark chocolate

(C)
2 egg (lightly beaten)

Ganache:
150g dark chocolate
100g whipping cream
15g butter

Steps:
Ganache:
1. Heat up whipping cream.
2. Pour whipping cream into chocolate and stir till chocolate melted.
3. Add in butter and stir till butter melted.
4. Set it aside to set to a spreadable consistency.

Chocolate cake:
1. Preheat oven to 165C.
2. Sift ingredients (A) together into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Pour all the ingredients (B) into a sauce pan.
4. Simmer over low heat till sugar, butter and chocolate melted, remove from heat.
5. Pour liquid mixture slowly into dry ingredients and stir till well blended.
6. Pour in beaten egg and stir till well blended. (Do not over mix.)
7. Pour batter into a lined 8inches round tin.
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40mins, if skewer comes out clean when inserted into cake then it done.
9. Leave cake to cool in pan for 5mins then remove and cool it on a wire rack.

Assemble cake:
1. Level surface by slicing off the top crust.
2. Spread ganache all over cake.
3. Chill in the fridge till ganache set.

Crystal Bun with Red Bean Paste and Ginkgo Seed (豆沙白果水晶包)

Recipe from 'Reviving Street Hawker' by Pang Nyuk Yoon.
Following is half portion from the original recipe. Felt disappointed, the texture of the skin does not taste as chewy 'QQ' as I expect. It skin just taste like Har Gow skin(Shrimp dumpling). ;(
I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #19: Dim Sum Affair (May 2012) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Recipe

Ingredients (yield about 15buns)
Dough:
100g sago powder
1tbsp wheat starch (澄面粉)
25g tapioca flour
200ml water
1 1/2tbsp shallot oil

Filling:
red bean paste
ginkgo seed (a pack of ready to use ginkgo seed or canned ginkgo seed)

Steps:
Filling:
1. Divide red bean paste into 20g each.
2. Wrap a ginkgo seed in red bean paste and roll it into ball, set aside.

Dough:
1. Boil water, remove 50ml of water first.
2. Add sago powder, wheat starch and tapioca flour into boiling hot water, quickly stir well with a wooden spoon. 
3. Add in oil, mix till soft dough and no trace of lump of flour in it. (Add in some more hot water if you find that the dough is dry or hard.) 
4. Hand knead dough till smooth. (Be careful as dough is still very hot.)
5. Cover dough to prevent dough from drying and turn hard. ) 

Wrapping:
1. Place a piece of clean banana leaf on steaming tray.
2. Grease leaf with oil and set aside.
3. Weigh 14g dough and roll it out into thin piece.
4. Wrap filling and seal opening. 
5. Arrange buns on steaming tray, brush surface with oil.
6. Steam in a preheated steamer over high heat for 10mins.
7. Dish out and serve. (You may brush buns with oil again to give it a shine.)