Yellow mee

Home made Fresh Hokkien Mee

This is another thing that I have been wanting to make and since I was sort of craving to have laksa and too lazy to go to the supermarket to get some yellow noodles, I thought that this was as good a time as any to try any make my noodles and see if I can get to have my laksa!

Ingredients (makes about 600 gm)
250 gm plain (all-purpose) flour
250 gm bread flour
1½ tbsp alkai water
1½ tsp salt
500 ml/2 cups water - add slowly as water is dependent on absorption of flour

Method:

Using a noodle extruder, such as for making string hoppers




Add plain flour,bread flour and salt together in a bowl.

Using a wooden spoon, quickly add in the boiling water and stir the flour mixture to form a thick paste. At this stage add alkali water.

Form paste into a lump. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle but still warm, knead into a smooth dough. Cover and rest dough for 30 minutes.

To make noodles, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Fill extruder with dough and extrude noodles into boiling water in long continuous strands until extruder is empty. When water returns to the boil and noodles float, scoop noodles out and drop into another pot filled with cold water (or put into a colander and run cold water over noodles). Stir some oil into noodles to keep them separated. Repeat until dough is used up.

Note: I used only 100 gm of plain and 100 gm of bread flour and 200 ml of water and got about 2 1/2 bowls of noodles.



If you do not have an extruder, then roll out the dough thinly and cut finely into noodles or use a pasta machine if you have one.

kuih pie tee/popiah

Kuih Pie Tee/Popiah
Since I am on holiday till the New Year, there are a number of things that I have been wanted to make, so what better time than now?

On one of my mum's visit a couple of years ago, I asked her to bring me a kuih pie tee mold and it has been sitting in my kitchen drawer since then. So I resolved to dust off the cobwebs off it and make some pie tee shells.

After a couple of dud shells, ie, with holes in the bottom or very open tops, I managed to get the hang of it and got decent looking shells!

Recipe I got from my mum is as follows:

Batter for pie tee shells
100g plain flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
180ml water
Enough oil for deep frying

MethodFor the shells :

1. Sift plain flour and rice flour together. Place sifted and salt into a mixing bowl. Add egg and mix with water to make a runny batter.

2 Heat oil in a deep wok or pan. Place pie tee mould in the hot oil for one minute. Remove the hot mould and dip 3/4 way into the batter.

3.Put mould in hot oil until shell is golden in colour. Jiggle the mould a bit and it should dislodge the shell, but if it does not, use a knife to slide it out. Remove the shell with chopsticks or a pair of tongs and place on absorbent paper to cool. Store in an airtight container or tin until needed.




Filling: (same as for popiah)

2 medium sized bangkwang/yam bean/jicama - julienned
2 carrots -julienned
1 thsp taucheo (salted soy beans)- mashed
2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
soy sauce to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in kuali and when hot, fry the taucheo for a few seconds, then add in the chopped garlic. Fry for another few seconds, then add in the julienned bangwang and carrots. Add soy sauce to taste and half cup of water.
2. Bring to boil then turn fire down to low and let it simmer for about 15 mins.
3. It is now ready to be used as filling for pie tee or bangkwang.

Note:

I do not add anything else in my popiah fillings but my mum adds in slice belly pork and tau kwa.

Garnish for pie tee:
Chopped boil egg
Cooked prawns
coriander
pounded chilli with a little vinegar

1. Fill pie tee shell 3/4 way with above filling.
2. Then add chopped egg, prawns, coriander and top with chilli sauce.




Egg Skin

Ingredients:
100 gm plain flour
50 gm tapioca flour
2 eggs
200 ml water - more or less
1 tbsp oil
pinch of salt

Method:

1. Mix flours and egg together, then add in water, slowly till you get a runny batter.
2. Add in the oil and mix well.
3. Heat a pan and brush with a little oil. Then pour in 3/4 ladle of the mixture and swirl round the pan.
4. Once the edges curl, and the skin moves easily, remove from pan.




Garnish for popiah:

Cucumber - julienned
Bean sprouts - blanced in boiling water for 20 seconds
Hard boiled eggs - chopped
Boiled prawns
Round lettuce
Coriander leaves
sweet flour sauce
pounded chillie

Optional:
Ground peanuts

Method for folding popiah:

1. Take one egg skin. Place a piece of lettuce leaf on it. Place some sweet flour sauce and chilli paste and spread round.
2. Add bangkwang filling on the lettuce leaf. Top with cucumber, bean sprouts, egg, boiled prawn and coriander leaf.
3. Fold egg skin into a packet and enjoy!

Merry Christmas

A Blessed Christmas everyone
Sorry I have been missing for so long. Went back to Singapore for 2 weeks in November, then a week at work and then I am off for 2 weeks again before starting work in the New Year.

It has been a rather hectic week after returning from Singapore. Working till late almost everyday trying to clear my work and then once home, too lazy to do anything except to cook dinner.

Monday wss my last day of work and come Tuesday I thought yay.. I could just relax... but we got a call from Katrina to ask if we could babysit James as his nanny was not feeling well... so ... yes babysat James for the whole day. He is such a good boy though, no trouble at all.

Anyways, made a cake for our cleaner and here's the cake.

Ingredients
1 lb (450 g) currants *
6 oz (175 g) sultanas *
6 oz (175 g) raisins *
2 oz (50 g) glacé cherries, rinsed, dried and finely chopped
2 oz (50 g) mixed candied peel, finely chopped
3 tablespoons brandy, plus extra for 'feeding'
8 oz (225 g) plain flour
½ level teaspoon salt
¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ level teaspoon ground mixed spice
8 oz (225 g) unsalted butter
8 oz (225 g) soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 oz (50 g) almonds, chopped (the skins can be left on)
1 level dessertspoon black treacle
grated zest 1 lemon
grated zest 1 orange
4 oz (110 g) whole blanched almonds (only if you don't intend to ice the cake

Equipment

You will also need an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tin or a 7 inch (18 cm) square tin, greased and lined with silicone paper (baking parchment). Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection.

Method
You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. All you do is weigh out the dried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the brandy for 12 hours.
Next day pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C). Then measure out all the rest of the ingredients, ticking them off to make quite sure they're all there. The treacle will be easier to measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in a small pan of barely simmering water. Now begin the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing. Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it's light, pale and fluffy. Now beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. If you add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixture won't curdle. If it does, don't worry, any cake full of such beautiful things can't fail to taste good!
When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices, using gentle, folding movements and not beating at all (this is to keep all that precious air in). Now fold in the fruit, peel, chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon and, if you don't intend to ice the cake, lightly drop the whole blanched almonds in circles or squares all over the surface. Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of silicone paper with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking).
Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4½-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but in any case don't look till at least 4 hours have passed. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it's cold 'feed' it – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double silicone paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.

Note: * I did not buy separate currants, sultanas and raisins. I bought the mixed fruit and just used 800 gms of it!

Cake before covering with marzipan and fondant



Covered cake