Homemade Bak Kwa

Homemade Bak Kwa 

Ingredients 

1.3 kg 'five-layered meat. (Wu Hua Rou)

2 tbsp Shao xing wine (Hua Tiau wine)

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp ground pepper

200 g sugar

1 teaspoon red bean curd liquid 

Honey syrup

5 tbsp Honey or Maltose  +4-5  tbsp  water (combine well)

Note:

1 baking tray : 30 cm x 30 cm 

Weigh : 90 grams marinated pork. 
Size: 14cm x 14 cm 

Direction

• Prepare mince meat, mix with all the seasoning ingredient thoroughly
• use the traditional method by lifting the meat paste and smash it into the bowl repeatedly. This step  makes meat’s texture and helps the meat absorb the liquid seasonings, and turns into a gooey paste.
• Once the meat paste is ready, spread/roll it to form a thin layer.
• Place 90 gm meat in a transparent clear plastic and roll flat until you have 14cm x 14cm size. Chill in fridge overnight.
• Line a piece of non-stick aluminum foil on baking tray.
• Remove meat plastic and spread on baking pan ready to bake.
• Place at the lowest level tray bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and spread honey evenly and continue to bring to a bake at the highest rack at 200c. Bake until reddish-brown with some charred marks on the edges.
• remove it immediately from the oven. a wire rack to cool down. 

Note: 

a)Taste

The amount of seasonings in the following recipes is based on my preference. You can plus and minus to adjust on seasoning your taste buds.

b) For enchancing the Colour

Red bean curds, red yeast rice, and artificial coloring are included in some recipes to give it a reddish color. The choice is yours. 

c) Shape

You may choose to also roll marinated meat just to fit any of your preference size tray and cut it later into 4 pieces instead. The choice is yours to choose.

Vacuum seal to keep longer.
( Electric Vacuum Food Plastic Sealer Packing Machine for this purpose. )

Homemade Crystallized aka Candied Ginger.

Homemade Crystallized or Candied Ginger.

Ingredient 

• 500 gram peel and sliced fresh Bentong ginger root. 
• 300 gram sugar 
• 250 ml water. 

Direction 

• Peel ginger skin either using a peeler or knife at your own convenient.
• Wash cleanly, pat dry. Slice ginger estimate 1/2 - 1 cm width until complete. 
• Heat up a medium saucepan add water, sugar and ginger, and bring to a boil.
• Stir occasionally until sugar melts into a syrup and reduce heat to a simmer stage. 
• Ginger slightly changes to yellowish, and sugar syrup starts getting slightly thicken.
• Continue to simmer until syrup is mostly crystallized.
• Switch off heat and strain ginger in a bowl .

Direction- Sunlight drying method. 

• Spread ginger evenly on a parchment paper in a tray. Dry in hot sunlight for 4 days.
•  (Depending on how hot is the sunlight, & thickness of your sliced your ginger.) 
• Keep in airtight jar after drying process and it is ready to be consume. 

Note and Tips:

• This is trickier than it looks, if its older ginger, you have to boil it longer.
• 500 gram ginger shrinks after simmering for 50 minutes - 1 hour.
• So don't be surprise ending result I only got 250 grams only, somewhere around this much. 

 Crystallized Bentong Ginger

Fried Talapia FIsh In Sweet Soy Sauce

 

Fried fish is one of the usual ‘must have’ dishes in one of our daily meal. Let's make fried fish a slight twist to give some extra oomph. Deep fried till golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Addition of sweet soy sauce gravy further enhances flavor of this dish.

Fried Talapia Fish in Sweet Soy Sauce. 
Ingredient A: Main 
1 Red talapia fish.

2 tablespoon all purpose flour 
1 teaspoon salt. 

3 stalk Spring onions
2 Red Chili 

Cooking oil 

Note: 
How to clean your talapia fish refer *** below note.

Ingredient B: Seasoning
4 tablespoon  Sweet Soy Sauce (Kicap Lemak Manis.)

2 tablespoon light soya sauce
2 tablespoon Oyster sauce 

a few dashes of white pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil 

250 ml Water 
salt and sugar to taste as per preference. 

Ingredient C: For Coating Fish 
All purpose flour + corn starch flour and 1 teaspoon salt

Direction 

Heat up add sufficient oil to deep fry fish until crispy. Dish up and set aside.
Heat up a wok add in seasoning and leave it to simmer. 
Add in red chili, spring onion allow to simmer and pour the gravy on fish. 

Note: 
Salty and sweetness is adjusted by own preference as in the seasoning we do already have oyster sauce, light soy sauce and Sweet sauce. So it is totally up to individual taste bud to add or not. 

***Method: How Tips to clean Talapia fish.

Wash scale fish then cut remove gill, innard guts.

If you do notice do remove a thin layer membrane on both sides of the fish stomach use your knife slowly scrub this layer away. This is what causes Talapia taste slightly bitter.

Now that it is clean, using running tap water use a brush to slowly brush away blood clot instead of your fingers. 

Using new toothpaste brush prevent fingers from being smell and prick by sharp fish bones.    

Rub fish with all purpose flour and salt inside out and leave to soak for 5 -8 minutes.

This will remove fishy smell. Wash using runny water and tap dry with wet kitchen paper.

How to cut your fish (Butterfly shape fillet)

A butterfly shape fillet cut begins with fillet still attached to the tail, the fillet is then cut in a cross pattern estimating 3-4 cm distance apart.  

Lightly coat flours (ingredient C) all over and then shake excessive flour.

Do this a few times and set aside to rest so the flour will incorporate for 8- 10 minutes. 

Set aside ready for frying. 

Banana Cake with Walnut or Bananas Toppings.

 

                                                CLICK TO WATCH IN YOUTUBE 

Banana Cake with Walnut and Bananas Topping

Ingredients
150 gram Anchor brand Butter 
120 gram Castor Sugar 
2 eggs (Grade A)
150 gram Mash Berangan Banana
1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon Banana Essence. (Optional)
180 gram Self Raising Flour ( I used bluekey brand. )
1 teaspoon baking powder 

Springdale Cottage Baked Walnut and or 

Banana strips if using banana to spread on the surface. 

Baking pan 

Parchment paper

Direction

• Cream/blend butter using hand mixer and then add castor sugar by batches
• Add in egg by batches until well combine.
• Add in flour, gradually by batches into the butter mix until well combine.
• Add in mash banana with banana essence, a quick mixed will do.
• Pour into a baking pan.
• Pour mixture into baking pan and  give it a few knock to release air bubble. 
  Spread walnut or either banana on the surface.
• Bake until done and at the end of baking time, the top should be brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean. 
• Remove from oven, allowing it to cool down. 

Oven Heat

Preheat Oven 170 c-10 minutes. Select upper and lower heat. 

Bake at 170°C for 55-60 minutes until fully bake. 

Pan Used:

Loaf baking tray. Base : (9 x 4 x 4 inches ) Using 8 inches will get a higher cake.

No greasing needed. 

Note:

• You can choose to spread banana on the cake surface  before or during baking. 
• By placing banana during baking the chances of sinking is lesser. 
• Always keep a close look towards the end of the baking so they do not burn.
• Why do some banana cakes has black sports.
  This is due to alkaline environment batter with baking soda results in discoloration of the pulp fibers.
• So you see there are no discoloration of pulp in my cake cos I did not add baking soda. 

Pisang Berangan 

Sharing another banana cake, spreading slice banana on the surface when the surface firms normally somewhere after 20-25 minutes bakes.