cake madness

After 4 hours of madness, 3 pairs of hands, some disappointment but lots of learning, I present you my first ever "complete" display cake. More to come ( and hopefully less mishaps).

White Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

Recipe from my book "Cooking with Chocolate and Coffee"

prawn risotto v1.0

If it doesn't work out right, it's just version 1.0

Been trying some new recipes on top of my head recently. I've always wanted to make prawn the dominant flavour ( something like prawn-noodle-style stock but used with a non-asian dish). Hopefully this will evolve into something really bistro. Comments are welcome!

Prawn Risotto v1.0

4 medium-sized prawn, centre shell removed ( I used banana prawn)
1 chilli
garlic
4 cherry tomatoes (halved)
30g baby spinach (washed)
white wine (I used chardonnay)
1/2 cup arborio rice
30g butter
about 700 ml of prawn stock

Prawn stock
skin/shell of 20 prawns
1 small carrot
1 medium sized onion
celery (about same amount of carrot)

*The above vegetables, used together in ratio of carrot:celery:onion=1:1:2 is called mire poix, normally used in making most stocks.

1. To make prawn stock, heat up some olive oil in a pot and cook the prawn shells lightly till they change colour. Then, lightly brown the carrot, celery and onion, then add about 1 litre of boiled water (speeds things up). Bring the mixture to boil, then lower heat to medium. Season with pepper, and minimal salt. Check the stock after 20 minutes as it might overcook and taste bitter instead.

2. When stock is almost done, heat up some olive oil in another pan and cook chopped chilli and garlic till fragrant. Then, cook the prawns but be careful not to overcook. Once done, remove and set aside.

3. In the same pan, add about 30g butter to the garlic and chilli. Once melted, add the arborio rice and coat the rice with butter. Then, add a splash of white wine and cook till wine is absorbed by rice. Following this, add the stock till just covering the rice. Note: pour stock around the sides of the rice, not at the centre. Keep repeating this process till risotto is cooked al dente.

4. Once done, stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook for another 1 minute. Serve the risotto with prawns cooked previously.

abundance

generous. abundant.
the above two words were commonly used by Masterchef Australia judge Matt Preston, an internationally acclaimed food critic, to describe some of the contestant's food.

and i'd like to think we achieved that tonight. we had nikujaga(homestyle japanese beef stew), vietnamese vermicelii rolls, kimchi, stirfry bokchoy with mushroom, and lemonade with mint, finished with egg castella.

when you have food that is abundant, it makes it look really appetizing.
when you have great friends to share (and to help finish the food), life's good.

YES!

Broccoli with Beurre Blanc, Roast Beef and Kimchi

It was an unhappy day today, so me and my mate decided to channel our energies from worrying to cooking! I tried making a beurre blanc sauce, something that I always wanted to learn to make, while my friend tries something new with beef.

Beurre Blanc Sauce
*recipe by Manu Feidel

100g chopped eschallots (about 3)
5 black peppercorns
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
150ml white wine
50ml white wine vinegar
50ml pouring cream
250g cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Combine eschallots, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, white wine and vinegar in a saucepan and simmer, until 95% reduced (or until all liquid is almost evaporated).
2. Add cream, bring to boil. Reduce heat to very low.
3 Slowly add butter, whisking continuously (otherwise mixture will split), a little at a time until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a jug, cover and keep in a warm place. Makes 1/3 cup.

*I omitted the bay leaf and thyme and it still tastes alright. I used Chardonnay as the choice of white wine.

Beef with Kimchi, Shallot, and Rosemary

Sliced beef ( long flat pieces)
Rosemary ( dried or fresh is ok)
Finely chopped onion/shallots
Kimchi of choice

First, season beef with pepper (didn't use much salt). Then place kimchi in the middle and roll up the beef slice like temaki sushi.
In the meantime, sautee shallots with olive oil and rosemary.
Once fragrant, collect the onions into a bunch, then place beef on top of bunch so that the aroma/smoke slightly cooks the beef.
Finally, sear the beef on the surface of the pan for a short period of time ( depends if you want it rare, medium or well done).
Serve with the sauteed shallots and some fresh chopped shallot.

Chicken Cubes in Black Bean Sauce

This is another dish that I'm trying to perfect. A popular dish at most Chinese restaurants, it packs a punch and is a wholesome all-in-one dish.

300g chicken breast, cubed
1/2 tbsp sliced garlic, 5 slices ginger
2 tbsp fermented black bean, soaked, chopped ( or use black bean paste as alternative)
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 onion, sliced; 1 red chilli, sliced

Marinade:
1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp corn flour

Seasoning:
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp water, for thickening

1. Combine chicken with marinade and season for 30 minutes.
2. Heat up oil and saute garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add in black bean and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Next, add the following in order: chilli, onion, green capsicum. Then, add the chicken and fry together with other ingredients till almost cooked.
4. Finally, add seasoning and cook till sauce thickens.

*you may use chicken thigh or thinly sliced pork belly to substitute chicken breast.

Simple Cooking - Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onion

After a long hiatus, I'm finally back into blogging action. Well, I've been busy trying new recipes and this is one of those can be modified easily into many others. Simple and delicious! Great as an individual dish with rice or best to be shared with friends and loved ones.
Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onion

300g fish fillet, sliced
50g sliced ginger
3 stalks spring onion, cut into 3cm lengths

Marinade:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soya sauce
dash of pepper and sesame oil
1 tsp corn flour

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn flour water for thickening
Mix all the ingredients and set aside for later use

1. Mix fish fillet with marinade and season for 30 minutes. Corn flour is used here to help the fillet hold its shape. Alternatively, you can add more corn flour and deep fry the fillets first before doing the next step.
2. Saute ginger until fragrant. Add in fish fillet and spring onion and pan-fry the fillets till they are almost cooked.
3. Add the seasoning and cook till sauce thickens.

3*.If you want to make this like "wa tan hor", just crack an egg into the pan with the sauce while it is still cooking. Then keep stirring to break up the egg into thinner shreds.

Great dish for a quick meal. I used basa fillet for this recipe but you may use garoupa, ikan kurau or any big fish.