Kueh Salat second attempt

This one's better. I'm fairly happy now. The approximate recipe is below. Quantities given can probably fill a 24cm cake mold, but I used a 20cm one.

 1. Make a concentrated pandan juice from 200g of deep green pandan leaves only. This is overkill - i think I need less, but having more juice is better than having less. Just blend with cut up pandan leaves with as little water as possible in batches, then squeeze/sieve the lot.

2. Make the rice. Steam 250g of glutinous rice (there will be excess) with a cup of half/half mix of coconut cream and water. Add 1/2 tsp salt. steam the lot for about 20 mins. Take out, fluff and mix the rice (coconut milk will not be evenly distributed). Then ladle rice to the mold (20cm dia) and tamp it down with a oiled potato masher (flat end). Should fill about 1/3 of the depth.

3. Make the custard.

3a. Mix about 150ml coconut cream + 250ml of pandan concentrate + pinch of salt and 120g sugar. Add a few drops of vanilla essence.

3b. Beat 5 eggs + 1 yolk (cold eggs from fridge). Sieve to get smooth egg mix.

3c. Gently heat mix from 3a until sugar is dissolved. When mix is hot (about 70C to 80C), add a roux (slightly runny, so use a bit more butter) made from 2 tablespoons of flour, slowly stirring it in. Stir until the mix thickens a bit and coats back of spoon. Do not over heat and boil.

3d. Pour a dribble of the mix into the egg a little at a time and stir continuously to tamper the eggs. Then when half done, combine all together. Stir to mix completely.

4. When 3d is started, put the mold into the steamer to steam another 5 mins or so to get the rice hot.

5. when 3d is ready, take the mold out of steamer and pour the mix into the mold through a sieve to catch any lumps.

6. gently steam (about 87C) until a instant read thermometer inserted into the kueh reads about 77C. Note to self: egg custard hardens at about 82C.

7. Take out and rest until kueh is cool (about 2 hours). Unmold and store, or eat.

Kueh Salat First attempt

I tried doing a kueh for the first time - this is a kueh salat. Tastes ok, but nothing like the sublime concoction I ate the other day at a function. The main difference being the wobbly texture of the top custard layer. Well... there's always another time.

I adapted a recipe from http://kitchentigress.blogspot.sg/2012/02/kueh-salat.html

What's the difference? Well, the most visible difference is lack of bunga telang
(this gives the distinctive blue color streaking the glutinous rice base). First I did not know where to get it, and second, I figured I would leave it out for the first try as not significantly affecting the taste of a first time preparation. Another significant difference is using coconut cream and not milk.

Other differences. The recipe does not mention sieving of the warm custard prior to laying on top of the rice. I did it - otherwise there'd be lumps. Instead of just adding in flour, I first did a roux (I was doubtful of just adding in the raw flour into a non-oil based liquid) with butter and flour and put it in (however, it probably did thicken it a bit too much). I did not bother with the multi-step procedure for the rice - I simply steamed it for 25 mins with a coconut cream and water mix in a separate container, then added it in, tamped it down and steamed for another 5.

Mistakes?

• I think I followed the quantities given, but I still ended up with a slightly too thin top layer.
• The top layer is over cooked. First, probably because the thin layer was too thin and the cooking time is shorter. Second, I was using my thermometer to check on it, but I forgot to set the alarm - by the time I got to it, it had hit 83C - too hot.
• I think I needn't thicken the custard that much before adding it in. A mild thickening would have done.

Prata with scrambled egg and dill

Got frozen prata dough in the fridge. Leftover dill.

So what do I do? Scrambled eggs on prata with dill as garnish, for breakfast. Tastes decent. Needs a bit more dill (the dill isn’t too strong now).

quickie lunch

Stir fry large sliced mushrooms and pine nuts in butter. Then pour the whole thing on top of salad leaves.

Pasta with home made tomato sauce and basil leaves from the balcony.

All done in 20 mins.

Stir fried garlic prawn

From vague memory, I think might be similar to an Italian dish. Anyway....

1. I used the salmon belly rendered oil left over from my previous dish.
2. Heat pan till hot. Maintain high heat.
3. Drop in a generous handful of chopped garlic and quickly fry.
4. When garlic starts to look it might brown, drop in the prawns. Add in salt and chilli flakes.
5. Vigourously stir fry prawn, flipping the saute pan to avoid bruising the prawns.
6. When prawns are fully colored, fry several seconds more. Then squeeze in a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
7. Drop coriander on top, mix a bit. Then serve.

This dish was a hit, not sure how much was due to the use of the salmon belly rendered oil from step 1.

For #1, probably can just use regular oil with a high smoke point. Probably can experiment with dressing the prawns with a spritz of extra virgin olive oil after it leaves the pan.

Salmon Belly with Dill and miso

Fairly quick dish. Quite nice, worth repeating.

1. Dry the skin of the salmon on paper towel.
2. Heat pan till very hot. Oil is optional - but it you use any, just a small sheen will do.
3. Place belly skin side down. Lower heat to medium high.
4. When skin is browned and crispy, turn belly over and fry the other side for 20-30 seconds.
5. Place still hot belly on a plate.
6. Spread miso (use a mild tasting white miso) in a thin layer on the top.
7. Drop finely chopped dill on top.

The "No Knead" bread recipe adapted for Singapore and for complete novices

This post was inspired by a meeting with friends. It is aimed at people who

1. Who are complete novices
2. Like Ang Mo style breads.
3. Like to save money on above breads.
4. Prefer food where they control the ingredients (including preservatives).
5. Have minimum equipment.
6. but is relatively easy to do.

The "No knead" term is from a recipe that is famously available on the internet. However, it needs adaptation to the Singapore climate and lifestyle, and I've added step by step instructions for the complete novice.

Must have equipment
A weighing scale accurate to 1g. This is essential. Recipes that use cup measures are inaccurate (depends on how you pack the flour and other stuff).

A large bowl made of glass or steel.

A large tray (fits in oven). Even if the tray is non-stick, I suggest baking parchment paper to lay on top of it. Bread has been known to stick even on supposedly non stick surfaces.

At least one oven mitt.

A fridge with enough space for the bowl.

An oven with max temp 250C. As low as 220 should hopefully be ok - just use your highest setting basically.

Good to have equipment (cheap stuff)
Vegetable wash. This is a food safe way to clean your counter top and anywhere you have remnants of sticky dough/flour. It loosens the stuff and makes it much easier to deal with.



Dough scraper. Makes it easier to  clean flat surfaces. Also comes in handy to handle dough if necessary (though this recipe doesn't need it).



Ingredients (makes one medium loaf)
400g bread flour. No need to buy fancy flour, but do get bread flour.
4g instant yeast
8g fine salt.
300g cool water (from tap is fine).

Ice cubes

Method
Takes almost 2 days to complete (with an overnight). But mostly spent waiting.

This sequence assumes starting the night before bed and that you use air conditioning to sleep. Technically the dough needs 12 to 18 hours at about 22C to develop. We come close by first putting the dough into the fridge to practically stop the development. Then take it out and let it develop overnight with you in the air conditioning. The last bit of development can be normal Singapore room temp. If the weather is very hot, adjust timing.

Step 1 - mix initial dough and refrigerate

1. Mix salt, flour well in the bowl. 
2. Using your hands, make a hole in the center of the flour.
3. Pour in water in center. Pour in yeast on water and stir the yeast into the water a bit.
4. With your hands, slowly incorporate the flour into the water, getting faster as more flour collapses into the water.
5. Continue turning and pressing the dough until nearly all loose bits of flour have been incorporated into a ball and the bowl is mostly free of flour/dough. 
6. Cover the bowl e.g. with a large wet towel or plastic wrap.
7. Put into the fridge for 1-2 hours. Longer is ok. At 1-4C, development is very low.

Bowl with unmixed flour

good enuff

Step 2 - develop the dough

1. Take out the covered bowl and bring it into the air conditioned room with you. Obviously place it somewhere safe where you won't knock it over.
2. In the morning, just wake up normally. If the dough has not fully developed, which it probably won't unless you sleep an abnormally long time, leave it developing in a cool place in the house but no need aircon. It will develop faster if the air temperature is warmer - just keep an eye on the roughly 12 hours needed and/or its appearance (see point 3). Technically, the longer it takes, the more flavor is developed.
3.  When developed, the dough will be about doubled in size and have almost translucent bubbles all over.

It has doubled and there are bubbles

Step 3 - fold once and do a second ferment.

1. Flour your hands well.
2. Carefully tip out the dough onto a well floured surface. Do not break any strands - try to keep the dough whole, gradually breaking its hold on the container a bit at a time if necessary.
3. Gently (you don't want to break up any internal bubbles too much) stretch the dough into a rough circle or rectangle. You can dust the dough with flour to make it easier to handle. Use as little as necessary.
4. Start lifting and folding the dough inwards.
5. Finally get it into a rough ball. Pinch any seams shut.
6.  Putting the ball of dough with seam side down, use the edge of your hands (the "karate" edge) to push the bottom of the ball inwards, tightening the ball.
7. Cover the ball loosely with a towel and let it rise for about 1 hour until it fully proofs.
8. You can do the following test to check for final proof. Poke your finger into the dough about 1cm. If the dough springs back immediately to fill your hole, it is not yet proofed. If the dough does not spring back at all, it is over proofed. What you want is a dough that slowly fills back your hole.

 

see the indentations? They are slowly filling up.

Step 4 - Bake

1.  About half an hour before baking (ie about half an hour into the second ferment), you probably want to preheat your oven to 250C.
2. Even after your oven reaches 250C, you still want to make sure your dough is adequately proofed (see step 8 previous section).
3. A few mins before putting in the bread, toss a 4-5 small cubes of ice into the oven and close.
4. Use a sharp knife, or a razor blade (you may not have a properly maintained sharp knife, then a razor is more reliable), do a couple of cross wise slashes. This is not purely decorative - when the dough first hits the oven, it is going to spring up - you are directing that spring.
5. When ready, put the tray of dough into the oven. Toss in another 4-5 small cubes of ice (keep clear of dough of course). BE CAREFUL OF STEAM. When opening the door, wear a oven mitt and keep your face away for the first second or two. At the same time do not linger or all the steam will escape.
6. Wait for 12 mins.
7. Dial down temp to 190C. Then open the oven door for about a minute to let some heat and steam escape.
8. Close oven door and continue baking at 190C until the bread is deep brown. About 30-40 mins. Longer if you like more crust.

 

Step 5 - cool down 

Take the bread out, but resist the temptation to cut a slice. You need to let it cool in open air (do not cover) until it is merely slightly warm. If you cut a slice or cover, you risk losing water or steaming the bread respectively.

Storage tips
This bread has no preservatives. It will taste less than optimal as soon as the second day and may develop mold within 3-6 days (probably depends on how you store it and how you handled it), from experience. To preserve taste and quality, you can immediately freeze sections of bread you cannot consume. When ready to consume, you can defrost the bread and then bake it in oven (covering up the exposed internal portions with foil) about 150C for about 15 mins until done (no preheating, just start from cold). It will taste almost as good as fresh baked.