MINI STICKY RICE WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES "Joong/Zongzi"

Toisan Pork and Chinese Sausage Joong (Zongzi)

My kids are carb-addicts.

Garlic Scapes Potstickers

Garlic Scapes! My fave ingredient for amazing home-made potstickers

These are Garlic Scapes.  They are not hollow like scallions or chives but have a solid core.  They are very mild in flavour and a wonderful addition to homemade potstickers.  I threw in a few stalks of green onion also (can you spot them?) because they just happened to be in the fridge too.

THANKSGIVING 2013: A VERY GF MEAL

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

GREEN DAIKON AND JUMBO CARROT SOUP (GF)

A healthy low sodium soup:  Green daikon and jumbo carrot soup

I drink this broth (not the meat and veggies) primarily when I'm detoxing.  There is no added salt in the soup.  It is both flavourful and filling.  I believe that this soup would fit into a GAPS diet as well as many of the other diets out there that aim to address gut and other immunological issues in your body. 

Dried dates and longans naturally sweeten the soup

COCONUT JELLY (GF)

Coconut Jelly (gluten free)

Hello Kitty Coconut Jelly!

GF EGGBALL WAFFLES! (GAI DAAN JAI)

The BEST Eggball Waffle recipe yet!  AND it’s Gluten Free!  Guten Tag!  Oh Joy!

EGGBALL (GAI DAAN JAI) WAFFLE IRON, WILLIAMS SONOMA

Eggball Waffles, a popular Hong Kong street food.  Visit the Night Market in Richmond or Vancouver’s Chinatown and you’ll find these made fresh in front of you.

BONE-DRY CHICKEN PIES

Looks promising, eh? 

I have been seeking the perfect recipe for those HK chicken pies that we buy at the local Chinese bakery.  They are unlike western pies because they’re small (tart-sized), they are savoury but also a bit sweet due to the addition of a bit of confectioners’ sugar in the tart dough, and the filling is primarily of chicken (thigh) chunks and ham.  These pies I suspect are made with lard because they taste so good.  I cannot bring myself to use lard (but interestingly I have no problem using pure butter)!

The end-product I am hoping for doesn’t have the requisite white sauce that western pies have; nor is there an abundance of veggies.  I followed the recipe exactly and was very disappointed, though not that surprised, that it was very dry.  The pies I purchase from Anna’s, our favourite chicken pie source, are on the dry side, but they are savoury and the filling kind of sticks together from I am guessing, a sort of cornstarch-thickened sauce made from the filling juices and possibly chicken stock. 
This recipe shows promise.  I made one test pie first and almost gagged from the bone-dry product.  For the rest of the batch, I then doctored the filling with a cornstarch-slurry thickened sauce made with chicken broth and stirred that into the meat filling.  It still needs something…like maybe some sauteed onions and more mushrooms.  I am inclined to add a sauce of some sort because I actually like a really moist filling.  I just worry that it’ll leak out of the little tarts as the dough is more like a shortcrust. 

So now I have about a dozen of these little pies to eat and though they’re not that bad, you really need a cup of hot tea or a tall glass of milk with them.  After I’ve figured out how to improve the recipe, I’ll post it.  I’ll be trying it with mushrooms, sauteed onions and a little white sauce first.   Hope it’ll work out!  I’ll keep you posted on my testing.

FEED A COLD: ANCIENT CHINESE CURE FOR A SORE THROAT

Ancient Chinese Secret Clay Steaming  Cups…

haha! actually, they’re only a few years old.  I purchased them in Chinatown in Vancouver and they merely look rustic.

My maternal grandmother had a set of these and my mother has her own set.  They are a distinctly southern tradition and can be found in Asian bakeries around town in Metro Vancouver. BTW, check out my paternal grandfather’s heritage village area (our particular village in Kaiping (Hoiping) is called Xicun( “Shrimp Village”)…it made the UNESCO list of heritage sites!  cool eh? 

These clay molds, or “buut jai” are similar to muffin tins and are specifically designed for a Chinese sweet made of rice flour and sugar.   When I was young and living with my maternal grandmother, Poh Poh,  during the summers after my grandfather passed away,  I ate many a confection made entirely of sugar and rice flour.  This particular sweet is close to my heart as it is comforting.

As with all homey desserts, this one lacks in pizzazz and beauty.  However, it is a favourite among children.  The rice pudding cakes are slightly chewy if made properly and a little sweet but not cloyingly so.  The little cakes must have a belly button in my opinion—signifying that is has been made properly.  Otherwise, it’s a fake.  A farce.   haha.  Some people put red beans in theirs (uck!) or use brown sugar (meh!) but in our household, the clean lines, the empty belly button and the pure white Buut Jai Goh is da BOMB!

My daughters have a sore throat and dry cough right now and there’s not much I can give them other than Manuka honey for the throat, green tea and some cough drops with even more manuka honey.   I recall when I was young, how eating Baak Tong Goh ("White Sugar Cake", a fermented kind of super sweet rice pudding cake) or a Buut Jai Goh would alleviate my sore throat.  The sticky rice pudding would coat the throat temporarily and it would make me feel all better for a little while.

My maternal grandmother is no longer with us, and my mother was never one to make something from scratch if it could be purchased easily at a local bakery; but I sure have a passion for reliving the good ol’ days!   In a matter of an hour, I had these on a plate ready for my daughter to eat.  Bebe loved it and ate 2 right away.  Bib didn’t think much of it and declined them.  Her loss. 
click on for the recipe...

XO SAUCE: HOT SAUCE HEAVEN

The first time I tried XO Sauce at a Chinese restaurant during dim-sum, I was wondering what the heck the “XO” meant. Could it mean it’s so good you’ll get “Hugs & Kisses”? nah. I knew XO sauce was expensive owing to its costly primary ingredient: dried scallops (conpoy). Initially, I didn’t know the name derived from its link to the premium XO Brandy. In fact, there isn’t any XO Brandy in any version of XO Sauce I’ve tried. “XO” seems to allude to its expense and its deliciousness. All the ingredients in the sauce are of a premium quality and special in this regard.

XO Sauce is a Cantonese hot sauce. You can eat it as a condiment with wonton soup, noodles, or dumplings. You can use it to make fried rice, fried noodles or put it in a stir-fry with veggies or meats.

Here’s a picture of the costly ingredient in question. The dried scallops I used in my recipe just happened to be pretty big whole scallops. You can also buy tiny itty bitty ones or broken scallops that of course taste the same but are not whole like the ones you see in this pic. These had been sitting pretty in my cupboards for at least half a year. I think if you freeze them, they’d last a really long time. I have used dried scallops in the past that have been hanging around for a few years and they were a little darker and drier, but had the same flavour. I have a feeling they could last almost indefinitely, though I have never had occasion to experience that in our household. Generally, I add dried scallops to “jook” (congee). I don’t really like fussing with the long soaking periods to create steamed and stewed dishes where you can actually rehydrate the suckers (intact) to go with fresh Chinese veggies.

It had never occurred to me to make hot sauce or even XO Sauce for that matter. However, the other day, my MIL gave me a bottle of homemade XO Sauce from her friend and it was da BOMB! I took to eating it dolloped on a boiled egg. I even got fancy and made devilled eggs (yolks piped with a piping bag) and decorated it with a smidgen of XO Sauce on the top; sprinkled with snipped chives. It was so good! Unfortunately, I ate all of those and there aren’t any pictures.

Try it on eggs, it’s out of this world and so easy! It’s also Low Carb and makes for a great snack when you’re feeling for something salty, savoury and spicy.

Notice that pool of oil in the sauce? Well, that’s how it’s preserved. You keep the XO Sauce in the fridge and it should keep for a few months (unless of course you’re me and eat it practically every day). I used fresh red Thai chili peppers and must confess it was a pain to deseed them. I wore rubber gloves and used a paring knife to split the chilies. I scraped out the seeds and cut off the stems. Then I rinsed them. I think that if you like your hot sauce really hot, you could leave more of the seeds in there. I like it mild.

The recipe I developed doesn’t contain any JinHua ham (a dry-cured ham). Even a prosciutto might do. I didn’t feel like heading to the market to look for it. I just used more dried scallops instead. If you like a smoky-sweet flavour, do try finding some dry-cured ham and finely dice it up to add to the scallops. I imagine you could adapt the recipe to suit your tastebuds. You can play around a bit with the proportion of chilies, scallops, dried shrimp and ham. I used scallions and garlic too and think this is preferable to onion, but I guess you can substitute onion for the scallion.

I don’t like my XO sauce swimming in oil, so my version is kind of “dry”. If you like more oil, you can just add more to ensure that all the ingredients are submerged. You can use the hot oil for stir fries and as a condiment too. What a versatile sauce! My recipe makes a huge quantity of XO Sauce…enough for gifting. I would say it would make a great Christmas gift. You could scale it down easily.

CAKEBRAIN’S XO SAUCE

(makes approximately 5-6 cups of sauce)

• 300 g dried scallops (conpoy)
• approx. 50 g JinHua ham (optional)
• 150 g garlic
• 150 g fresh red Thai chilies, destemmed and deseeded (wear gloves)
• 250 g shallots
• 200 g dried shrimp
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons pure sesame oil
• kosher salt, to taste
• 4-5 cups grapeseed oil or flavourless oil

1. Prepare the fresh chilies first. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. After 15 minutes, or when the temperature has been reached, turn off the oven. Wearing gloves, remove the stems, split in half and scrape out the seeds. Rinse and dry between paper towels. Spread on a sheet pan and place in the turned off oven. Leave the oven door ajar and allow the chilies to dry, preferably overnight.
2. Wash and clean the dried scallops. Cover with hot water and soak for about 3 hours until soft (or overnight if you wish, refrigerated). Strain and reserve the scallop liquid for adding to stir-fries and stock or soups. Finely shred the scallops by hand.
3. Soak the tiny dried shrimp in hot water for 3 hours. Drain.
4. If using the dried ham, dice finely.
5. In a food processor, put the shallots, chili peppers and garlic in the bowl and pulse until finely minced. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
6. Using the food processor, add half the scallops to the processor bowl and pulse a few times. Empty into large bowl. Then put all the ham if using, and the drained dried shrimp in the processor. Pulse a few times until crumbled in appearance. Add this to the large bowl. Finally, add the other half of the dried scallops and mix thoroughly.
7. Heat 4 cups of oil over high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the minced onion, garlic and pepper mixture. Saute until translucent. Add the dried scallop mixture and turn down the heat to med-low; continue stirring for approximately 20 minutes. If more oil is needed in order to submerge the ingredients, then add more.
8. Season the XO sauce with paprika and salt to taste. Stir in sesame oil. Continue to cook until there is no longer any moisture rising from the mixture.
9. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
10. Place in containers and seal. Store in the refrigerator.

COME HERE, MY LITTLE DUMPLING!

psst!

Hey you...Dumpling Lover...

I know you love all manner of dumplings! Gyoza, apple dumplings, potstickers, perogies, har gow...if it can be wrapped into a tasty mouthful-sized portion, you're into it, right?

You troll the Asian market freezer section marvelling at the myriad of fillings of bagged commercially made dumplings like those really tasty potstickers from Hon's. Which, by the way are right next to the bags of frozen tiny Man Tou (steamed white buns) so that for breakfast or snacks, you can whip out a few from the freezer to steam (in-only-3-minutes-on-high-heat-can-you-believe-it!) for the kids 'cause they so like to dip the little buns in condensed milk!

Unlike my maternal grandmother who deftly made her own doughs from scratch and jerry-rigged two ping-pong paddles with a hinge at the end to squish dough balls into perfect little circles of dumpling wrappers for her homemade dim sum, I tend to buy my wrappers at the local Asian market.

Sure, I've made wrappers from scratch. But I'm no dumpling martyr. The fun part is inventing the different fillings to be wrapped. You can be so creative with the dumpling innards!

Dumpling wrappers from scratch definitely are yummier and have a lovely chewy texture just like homemade noodles. However, I'm willing to compromise that because I don't have any time with my kids and my job to do the Martha thing and make the wrappers too.

So don't read on if you're looking for a wrapping recipe. This post is all about the joy of making dumplings. It's economical, it's yummy and it's healthy too! You can control what goes into the wrappers (think hidden veggies for the kiddies). Since my time is money around here (and my sanity too) I buy fresh dumpling wrappers when I decide to make dumplings. I know how to make wrappers from scratch but I'll leave that for the summertime when I'm on my holiday. Maybe.

Instant dumpling gratification is what I'm all about today. These are the closest thing to scratch and you won't believe how amazing they are compared to the commercially frozen ones.

When I make potstickers, I don't bother with making just one batch. I usually make it in bulk so that I can freeze the raw dumplings for future meals. Generally, a package of wrappers will make enough dumplings for a filling that consists of 1 lb of ground pork. So, if you want to make just a few I suppose you could just halve the recipe.

Chinese Potstickers, the Cakebrained Way

• 2 packages of commercially made frozen dumpling wrappers (gyoza or potsticker style, which are round and do not have egg as an ingredient) [mine were 300 gr packages; so 600 grams total of wrappers]

Filling:

• 2 lbs of ground pork
• 1 package of silken tofu (optional)
• 1 large bunch of chives (or any other veg like baby bok choy or napa cabbage etc.), finely chopped
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp Shao-Hsing wine or dry sherry
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T oyster sauce
• 2 T cornstarch

1. Saute the chives, garlic and ginger in a pan until softened and aromatic. Allow to cool.
2. Combine the pork, silken tofu, the cooled sauted chives mixture and the rest of the filling ingredients. Mix well. You can even mix all of these ingredients in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
3. Have a sheet pan ready with a tea towel to cover the finished dumplings. Get a small bowl of water for sealing the dumpling skins and use a small spatula or spoon for scooping the filling into the formed skins.
4. Keep the dumpling wrappers covered with plastic wrap or a towel while you form and fill the wrappers. Follow the slide show tutorial for pleating techniques. If you don't want to bother with authenticity, then simply fold the dumpling in a half moon shape without pleating and be done with it. Who's going to sue you for that? Life's too short.
5. Wrapped dumplings should be frozen uncovered until solid, which will only take a few hours in the freezer. Then, remove from the sheet pan and store in ziploc freezer bags until needed.
6. To cook the dumplings, follow the tutorial in the slideshow. Use a nonstick pan with a lid and a little veg oil. After frying until golden brown, add 1/4 cup of water and cover until most of the liquid has evaporated. Uncover and serve with dipping sauce (or continue frying the other sides if, like me, you like all your sides to be crispy!)

Makes approximately 80 plump, overstuffed dumplings

Potsticker Dipping Sauce

• 1 T dark soy sauce
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T Chinese white rice vinegar
• 1 T Hot chili oil (optional)
• 1 T finely sliced scallion
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup chicken stock

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve with potstickers. Store remaining sauce covered in refrigerator

MALAYSIAN STEAMED CAKE (MAH LAI GOH)

steamed cake (a.k.a. Mah Lai Goh), a dim-sum favourite

I have recently been enamoured by steamed cakes. I'm really falling in love with the fact that you can eat the quiveringly tender slices of cake without frosting. It so appeals to my sense of frugality and is a lot friendlier for my waistline.

The best thing of all about steaming your cakes instead of baking them is that you can re-steam leftover slices as you need them (about 3 minutes will do) and you have a wobbly-melt-in-your-mouth fresh cake again. I like to put a few slices on a heat-safe plate, place that on my steaming rack and by the time I have the milk in the glasses and on the table, my daughters have fresh cake again. I prefer steaming on the stove to the microwave; however I imagine you could simulate the same sort of thing in the microwave too for a few seconds. The thing about the microwave though is that after it cools down, you might have a dry slice of cake.

I'm assuming that this cake is called "Mah Lai Goh" because "Mah Lai" is Cantonese for Malaysian and "Goh" means cake. I have no idea if the cake originates in Malaysia but if you know, please do tell. All I know is that it is ubiquitous in Cantonese Dim Sum restaurants. Each restaurant has its own version. Chinese don't use fresh milk in any of their desserts. It's always evaporated milk. This recipe is pretty convenient because most of these items are readily found in the average pantry at any time. The ingredient list is short too.

This particular recipe has been fiddled by me to the point that it hardly resembles any of the recipes I've researched. Instead of using evaporated milk (which of course you can use), I use canned coconut milk. You have to use brown sugar because it gives it the rich caramelly flavour. The only problem I have encountered on occasion during my trials is that the flour may not get incorporated properly and you may have little pockets of unmixed flour. You must take care not to deflate the batter when mixing in the flour mixture. I sift the flour mixture over the batter and use a large balloon whisk and a gentle touch. You must work quickly yet be thorough in your folding.

I like to have my steamer all ready and heated up while I'm folding the batter and pouring it into the prepared pan. Though this cake is certainly yummy, I'm still partial to that Hot & Steamy Chocolate Cake I made before. My girls prefer it and I have to admit, chocolate rules my world (and of course theirs--it must be genetic). This Mah Lai Goh is a nice change of pace though...

CAKEBRAIN'S MAH LAI GOH (Malaysian Steamed Cake)

3 large eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 oz coconut milk (or evaporated milk)

1 t. vanilla extract

1/4 cup melted unsalted butter

1/2 t. baking soda

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1. Spray an 8" round pan with Pam and line the bottom with a circle of parchment
2. Beat 3 eggs and brown sugar in a mixer on med-high speed for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare your steamer. [I used a wok with a steaming rack]. Preheat the steamer by bringing the water to a boil with the lid on.
4. Add the coconut milk, vanilla and melted butter to the egg mixture and beat for 1 minute.
5. Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Resift the flour mixture over the prepared batter. Using a balloon whisk, gently but quickly fold in all the flour so that the batter does not deflate; yet all the flour is combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Lightly cover the pan with foil [I slightly tent it] and place the pan on the steaming rack. Cover with the wok lid.
7. Steam for 30 minutes over high heat. CHECK THE WATER LEVEL PERIODICALLY to ensure that you don't boil away all the water. Add sufficient hot water to maintain water level just below the bottom of the pan. The pan should never be submerged, of course!
8. Remove pan and cool the cake; slice and serve.
9. Leftovers can be wrapped in an airtight container. Re-steam leftover slices for 3 minutes on high before serving.

HOT & STEAMY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Don't have an oven, you say?
Craving some chocolate cake made from scratch?
and only 2 eggs in your refrigerator?
Steamed Chocolate Cake

Don't despair...Asian "bakers" long ago discovered the joys of steaming their desserts.

I always enjoy a well-made Mah-Lai Goh (Malaysian Cake) at DimSum. It sometimes comes around on the steam carts and it isn't a very easily made cake. Not all restaurants can create the proper texture in the crumb. I like my Mah-Lai Goh tender, moist and full of caramelly flavour. Unfortunately, these cakes need to be eaten fresh from the steamer and don't last too well past a few hours.

I was clicking away around the internet the other day and came across a Steamed Chocolate Cake recipe. It called for evaporated milk and this tweaked in me nostalgia for those DimSum steamed cakes. Unfortunately, I've never seen chocolate anywhere in a Chinese Restaurant (too bad), but the technique is certainly Asian in technique.

A steamed cake may not sound too appealing to many, but in fact it can yield a very tender crumb. You don't get any of those golden brown edges on steamed cakes. Every inch of the cake, including the crust is very much like the center of the cake. The ease of this recipe is a bonus. You don't even need an electric mixer. In fact, most of these items can be found in your pantry. This cake only requires 2 eggs. It can be made into cupcakes or the batter can be divided.

The only problem is finding a vessel large enough to steam your 9" cake pan. I use a wide wok and set the cake pan on a rack in the water. The water doesn't touch the cake pan and I have about 1.5" clearance from the cake pan to my lid at least. My wok lid is too shallow and I need a higher-domed one, but I like it because it's glass and I can always check the water level without lifting the lid to take a peek.

Fortunately, this Steamed Chocolate Cake proved to keep better than the DimSum ones. I covered mine in plastic wrap and by the end of the evening, half the cake was gone. It was still moist.

My mom and the kids loved the cake and inhaled it during snack times. Don't worry...I didn't succumb to the sugar-cravings! I've kept on track and I'm still low-carbing. In fact, I've added running into my health regime and I've been running every day this week so far. Actually, correction: I run every night. By the time I've done my marking, put the kids to bed and everything else you need to do in a household, it's like 10pm! After my run and shower, I'm kind of still buzzed and can't always fall asleep until 11:30. There's no way I can fit the run in, in the morning because you-know-who still has night-wakings/nose-bleeds/night-terrors. These occur around 3a.m. consistently. So running in the a.m. is not happening! :p

In any case, the cake kept well into the next day for snacking in an air-tight plastic container. I didn't refrigerate it. I don't know if it can last longer than that because there wasn't anything left! Here's a Cakebrained tip: if you find the cake has survived into the second day and it's not as soft as you'd like, then simply re-steam that slice for a few minutes. Of course, this is only if you haven't frosted it!

This steamed cake is perfect even without frosting, but if you do intend to frost it, I'm sure it would prove to be excellent too. It slices very cleanly and isn't crumbly or dry. It would make a wicked cupcake. If you were making a tall frosted chocolate cake, I could envision a few problems after doubling the recipe: such as whether to steam both 9" cakes at once, to do them consecutively (would the batter hold well?) or finding two woks so you could steam both pans simultaneously.

Here's the recipe I found at Cuisine Asia.

STEAMED MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE
(adapted from Cuisine Asia)
makes one 9" round

185g unsalted butter
180g granulated sugar
200 ml evaporated milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125g all-purpose flour
70g cocoa powder
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t vanilla

Line and grease a 9"baking pan

Combine sugar, evaporated milk vanilla and butter in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved and butter has melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Add the beaten eggs into the slightly cooled mixture and stir until well mixed.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg mixture over the flour and stir until well mixed. Batter should be runny.

Heat up the steamer. Place a rack over the water.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place into the steamer on the rack. Cover the top of the pan loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. [I tented it slightly] Cover with wok lid.

Steam over medium heat for 45 minutes. [check water level occasionally to ensure the wok doesn't dry up]. Check for doneness by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, steam for a further 5 minutes.

Cool the cake in pan before turning out for further decoration.

BLACK SESAME PUDDING CUBES

nine-layered black sesame pudding cubes

Have you ever had "Nien Goh"? It's the Chinese New Year's rice pudding cake that's steamed. This Black Sesame Pudding recipe is similar to the New Year's rice pudding cake in many ways. The base is rice flour and sugar and it's steamed. In fact, it's steamed in layers...9 layers in all. In the picture, you can see at least 8 layers. My ninth layer is kind of thin and doesn't show up very well. But it's there!

This recipe yielded a pudding that was not as chewy or tender as I would have liked. I wanted to replicate the Black Sesame puddings you get at Dim Sum. This one was more dense and very filling. After one cube, I was done and wanted to go to take a nap.

The black sesame flavour was pretty good, but perhaps this pudding is best eaten warm and fresh. After refrigeration, the pudding became harder and wasn't as pleasant to eat cold. I hadn't tried resteaming the pudding after it was refrigerated, but it's worth a try to bring back the texture. I don't think I'd make this one again. I couldn't eat more than one cube because it was so filling.

BLACK SESAME PUDDING

(from Distinctive Snacks of Hong Kong)
1 1/2 oz (40 g) black sesame
8 oz (225 g) castor sugar
3 1/2 cups water
7 oz (200 g) rice flour
2 oz (50 g) waterchestnut flour
1/2 T oil

• Rinse, drain and air-dry the black sesame. Stir-fry in dry clean wok until golden brown. Grind in 6 oz(200 ml) water. Put through a sieve to form a fine solution.


• Dissolve castor sugar in 6 oz (200 ml) water


• Mix rice flour and waterchestnut flour with 2 cups (500 ml) water. Add oil and mix.


• Add the above 3 items together, mix well. Pour a thin layer of mixture to about 1/2 cm thick in a square tin. Steam over high heat for 3 minutes until set.


• Remove wok lid, pour in a second layer of mixture, steam for another 3 minutes. Repeat this process for 9 layers and then steam the whole pudding for 20 minutes.


• Remove from heat. Cool, unmould, slice and serve.


• Tip: mix sesame solution well before steaming.

SIZZLING GINGER GREEN ONION CLAY POT OYSTERS

ginger green onion clay pot oysters

mise en place: green onion, yellow onion, chinese sausage(laap cheung), bbq pork (cha siu), ginger

I was hankering for some deep fried oysters and decided to make my homespun rendition of Sizzling Oyster HotPot, a Cantonese Clay Pot dish served in restaurants
start with whatever you have in the fridge. I had chinese sausage (laap cheung) and bbq pork (cha siu). Often, I've tossed a spoonful of pineapple tidbits in or deepfried tofu. Almost anything goes!
in a ziploc bag, coat oysters in heavily seasoned cornstarch/flour mixture. then i shallow fry them until golden. at this point, it's hard to resist eating them
in a clay pot, add sliced ginger and saute until fragrant
toss in the onions and continue sauteing until translucent; then chuck everything else in!

add the oysters last and toss to mix. unfortunately, i forgot to take a picture after i tossed the oysters with everything else! i just wanted to eat it