Piggy Mooncakes 小猪猪传统月饼

After seeing so many bloggers making this adorable piggy mooncakes, finally I'm also making one myself...Oops, not one but 2 batches all together 16 numbers! My first batch turned out having uneven patches after egg wash, after consulted Jessie, I decided to drop egg wash totally. I coated the second batch of piggy mooncakes with golden syrup and I think this is the end result which I love!  (no doubt, my piggy without alkaline water looks a bit "flat" after baking "@_@)

Is indeed such a joy to see the adorable piggy, when I was in the midst of making it, I was filled with joy, the joy of seeing such a cute creation as well as the joy of meeting family members soon! And all these cuties will be given to the kids who will be very excited to see and...eat it! My piggy is as small as the size of a tablespoon! 

Thanks Ann of Anncoo Journal for creating such a wonderful recipe in year 2011 for such a season. Ann has provided a detail step-by step video slides show on how to make the piggy mooncakes.

Oink! Oink! Ready to go into oven!

Does this type of big eyes make you think of someone?! Haha...

Family's photo time!

Showing his...tail (Pi Ku) Oink! Oink!

Recipe from Anncoo Journal
(x 2 of her quantities to make 11 piggy)
Ingredients:
150g plain flour
90g golden syrup
3g alkaline water (omitted)
38g peanut oil 

Filling: - store bought red bean paste

Tools:
 a round 1/8 tsp spoon, a skewer, a toothpick and a small piece of plastic sheet

Black beans for piggy eyes, rinsed and pat dry

Glaze: 1 tbsp pf golden syrup + 1 tbsp of water (mixed well)

Method:
Please refer to Ann video slides.

Store for 2 days before consume, this is to allow the pastry to turn "soft". (回油）

Note for myself:
1. I rest the dough for 40 mins. before knead to smooth.

2. Bake at 180C for 5 mins, take out let the piggy rest for 10 mins. Place back to oven again at 140C for 20 mins. Take out, glaze with golden syrup mixture and put back into oven for 2 mins.

Bye! 

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 
中秋节快乐！

See you next month! 

Easy Chicken Curry Puff

Recently very busy, my parent is coming end of the week and after another week, Gabriel and me will be going for travel. Not sure whether I still got time to post anything before end of this week. After this week, I will stop posting for a month. 

This is an easy version of chicken curry puff because I used the store bought ready rolled pastry sheet. I'm very happy with the end result, the puff pastry from "Borg's" didn't disappointing me. The filling is actually the left over from my pandan chicken which I didn't finish cooking, I added another 1 tbsp mild curry powder to fry the filling. It turned out just the right taste for my family. Is Gabriel first taste on curry puff!

Recipe from Tze's Kitchen Play
Ingredients:
3 sheets of ready rolled pastry
some water
1 big onion, sliced
2 big potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp of salt
marinated chicken filling

Method:

1. Thaw the frozen pastry sheet for 30 mins. While the sheet still frozen, cut one piece into four using a knife. Is easier to handle the pastry sheet while it is still frozen.

2. Use a scissors to cut the marinated chicken filling into small cubes. 

3. Cook the potatoes cubes in the pot of boiling water for 10 mins. Remove from pot, drain.

4. Heat the wok, add the cooking oil. Stir fry the sliced onion for 2 mins, add in the potatoes cubes. Stir fry until the potatoes turned slightly brown, add in the marinated chicken cubes, add 1 tbsp mild curry powder, add salt. Continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked. About 5 mins.

5. Using a small piece of puff pastry, wrap in the chicken filling. Apply some water on the edge of the pastry, fold it diagonally into a triangle. Press the edge to seal up the side, using a fork to press on the edge of the pastry.

6. Bake in the preheated oven at 200C for 15~20 mins. If the pastry turn brown too fast, lower the temperature to 180C.

Pandan Chicken (Screw Pine Leaf Chicken)

I make this pandan chicken just because I missed this type of food, but with Gabriel around I can't make the food too spicy (anyway, myself also can't take too spicy food ^_^), so I adjusted the recipe a bit to make it suitable for him.  Instead of deep-fry I pan-fry the chicken using my Happy Call pan. The chicken is really tasty and moist with lemongrass fragrance.

Wrapping the chicken into the parcel is hard for me...hehehe, first timer! I watched the video posted by WokkingMum again and again, but come to real stuff really not easy with the soft pandan leaf. If the pandan leaves is fresh and hard will be easier I think. (I didn't wrap all the 600g chicken but only make 8 parcels, the rest of the chicken I make into other dish)

Do you believe that God has planned our daily life, like who you will meet up, what you will say to other? I believe so! Even someone you have not meet before, you may introduce him or her to someone else...across the world and he or she comes to meet you. We may not understand why this happened, but for sure there is a reason behind. Praise the Lord!   

Recipe adapted from Asian Tidbits Mini Cookbook by Debbie Teoh
Ingredients:
600g Chicken meat, sliced into 0.5cm thick slices
2-3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp fish sauce
6 tbsp honey (to taste) (used 3 heaps tbsp)
2 tsp salt (to taste)
100 ml coconut milk
some screwpine (pandan) leaves for wrapping
5 tbsp cooking oil for pan-fry

Spice paste:
4 shallots, peeled (used 2 big one)
3 cloves garlic, peeled (used 1 tbsp garlic minced)
3 cm knob ginger, peeled (used 1 tbsp ginger minced)
3-4 stalks lemongrass (used 1 stalk and added 3 tbsp of lemongrass marinade paste)
2 tsp chili powder (used 2 tsp mild curry powder)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns (used a pinch)

Method:

1. Combine chicken slices, spice paste and remaining ingredients, except screw pine (pandan) leaves and cooking oil, in a bowl. Mix well. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour.

2. To assemble, fold one end of screw pine leaf into a cone and fill with some marinated chicken.

3. Fold down excess leaf to cover chicken, then wrap it around the back of the parcel, from left to right, and tuck it through the loop, adjust and shape parcel into a 2 pointed triangular shape.

4. Pour the oil into happycall heated pan, place the parcel into it and cover the pan. Let it cooked for 3-4 mins until the exposed parts of chicken turned golden brown. Flip the pan and let it cook for another 3-4 mins. or until the exposed parts of chicken turned golden brown.  

I am submitting this to the Little Thumbs Up "Pandan" event organized
 by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by Butter, Flour & Me.

Blueberries Chocolate Muffins + Cornflakes Cookies (School Fundraising)

I love this kind of baking, bake for a cause! My son school will be one of the polling station for the coming Saturday election. As they anticipate a big crowd coming in to school, it is a wonderful chance for school fundraising. I am doing what I can do best...baking! The cake and cookies are donated to school for them to sell on this Saturday.

I have been thinking very hard on what to bake, I want a sure winner recipe which can attract buyers! Finally, I selected Anncoo Journal's cornflakes cookies and Paula Deen's blueberry muffin which I added chocolate chips in it! Thanks Ann for her advised and sharing of her recipe. I made 3 times her recipe. The cookies with cornflakes in it is really crunchy! As for Paula Deen, I love the muffin, I made 3 times her recipe as well! 

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen with minor modifications 
2 cups all purpose flour 
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar (used 1 cup brown sugar)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (used pack blueberries sauce)

1/2 cup granulated brown sugar or white sugar (omitted, I didn't follow the step to sprinkle the sugar on top of the muffin half way of the baking, afraid it might affect the raise and cause the deflation)

Some chocolate button (as you wish)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C. 

2. In a bowl, combine egg, sugar and milk. Whisk until a bit pale, add butter and mix well. Add the flour, and baking powder. Mix with a spatula, stir until just combined. Do not over mix it. Gently fold in the blueberries sauce and chocolate button.

3. Spoon the batter into cupcake/muffin linear, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 15~20 mins. Until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the muffin center comes out clean. Cool the muffin on a wire rack. 

Recipe adapted from Anncoo Journal 
Ingredients:
250g butter, soften
175g icing sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
350g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
160g cornflakes
50g dried cranberry 

Method:

1. Sieve the flour and combine plain flour with baking powder and vanilla extract together. Add crushed cornflakes and dried cranberry. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter, egg and icing sugar together till whiter. 

3. Pour in all the plain flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix them at low speed (I  hand mixed using spatula instead)

4. Shape the cookies using a dessert spoon, then using a butter knife to push the dough onto the baking sheet. (I pressed the dough flat a bit)

5. Bake at pre-heated oven at 180C for about 15 mins. 

Panna Cotta with Chocolate Ganache

It was not my initial intention to create this dessert, I was trying out something which I had tried 9 times including this round of unsuccessful attempt is 10 times...the dreamy macaroon, which I added Pandan flavour, but... :( As I have make the chocolate ganache for the macaroon filling... I just try something which can salvage my chocolate ganache... it turned out to be a yummy Panna Cotta with Chocolate Ganache! The texture is so soft and smooth with full milk flavour, Gabriel is going to loves it!  

Hey, hey, hey...Gabriel is going to snatch the Panna Cotta from me if he see them, let me taste one first before he comes home :)