Japanese Soft White Bread Recipe

1. Add bread flour in a bowl, pour the boiling water and mix well with spatula or spoon.  
2. Cling film and place in the fridge overnight or leave outside at room temperature at least 4 hours.
3. Take out from the fridge 30 minutes before using to return to room temperature.

1. Put all ingredients (except butter) into the bowl of stand mixer. Using the dough hook, knead for 5 minutes (Chef Kenwood mixer, speed 2.5) until the dough comes together.  Add in butter and continue kneading for another 8 - 10 minutes until the dough comes together, become elastic and tacky but not sticky.
2. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 60 minutes or until double in size in a large greased bowl, covered with cling film or kitchen towel.
3. Punch down the dough to release the air. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface and form into a ball.  Roll out the Roll out flat. 
4. Roll out the dough flat with a rolling pin. Fold in two sides to the middle and roll up the dough like Swiss Roll until a small log is formed. 
5. Place all dough in the prepared loaf pan.  Let it rise for another 30 - 45minutes or until double in size.
6. 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 190C.
7. Bake at preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Remove bread from oven and let them cool on rack completely before slicing.

Steamed Pandan Tapioca Kueh Recipe

METHOD:

1. One to two days before, blend pandan leaves with 200g of water, squeeze out the juice through a sieve.  Leave the pandan juice in the fridge overnight. Pour away the top clear layer. Use the concentrate pandan extract in the bottom. Top up with water to get 200g pandan juice. This will remove the bitterness from the Pandan juice (Tip from Jeannie Tay).
2. Squeeze out the liquid from grated tapioca.
3. Prepare the steamer and line the base of square pan with banana leave.  Set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, add in grated tapioca, coconut milk, 200g pandan juice and brown sugar.  Mix with spatula until well combined.
5. Pour the mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly.
6. Cover the pan with 9 inch square banana leave (this is to prevent the water vapour dropping into the kuih) and steam at medium heat for 45 minutes until cooked.
7. Remove from steamer to cool down.
8. Mix the grated coconut milk with salt evenly.  Pour into a steamer tray and steam for 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
9. Once both are cooled down, remove the tapioca kuih from the pan and cut into your desired size. Coat with steamed grated coconut.

Kucai Bao (Chive Steamed Buns) Recipe

1. In a wok, heat up the oil, add the slices shallot and garlic, fry until fragrant.   
2. Add in dried shrimp, fry until slightly crispy and add in prawn.
3. Then add in mushroom, add some water and stir fry for a minutes. Sesame to taste with salt and soy sauce. Follow by kucai and stir fry until the vegetable are soft. Transfer to a bowl.  Set aside to cool.

1. In a bowl of electric stand mixer, add in all the ingredients. Knead the dough until all come together, around 10 minutes with the dough hook attached.
2. Cover the bowl with kitchen towel or cling wrap and let the dough rest 15 - 20 minutes.
3. Lightly dust the working surface with flour. Gently punch down the dough to deflate. Roll the dough to form a log.  Cut and divide into 17 equal portion, approximately 46g per portion.  
4. Shape each dough into a ball.  Flatten the ball with your palm or small rolling pin into a circle.  The edges should be thinner than the centre.  Place about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoon of filling in the centre.  Gather up the edges to seal and shape into round ball.  Place the bun on the prepared parchment paper.
5. Spread the buns on the bamboo steamer about 1 inch apart as the dough will rise. Let the buns rise for another 15 to 20 minutes in semi warm area.
6. Prepare the steamer, wrap the steamer cover with a clean cloth.  This will prevent steamer water dropping on the bun, to get a smooth skin.  Steam for 8 - 10 minutes over the medium heat.
7. Once it’s done, open the cover slightly to release the heat for few minutes. Transfer the bamboo steamer away from the water and let it stand for another few minutes before removing the cover. With this, the buns will not shrink after cooling down.

Yields: 6 - 7 servings

INGREDIENTS:

375g (3 cups) rice, washed and cooked
60g dried prawns, fried and chopped
2 tbsp toasted grated coconut (kerisik)
1 tbsp belachan (shrimp paste), toasted (I omitted)
1 tsp brown sugar or to taste
1 tsp sea salt or to taste

Herbs to be finely sliced:
1 thumb size fresh turmeric, julienned
100g (10) shallots
1 lemongrass
1 ginger flower
3 stalks laksa leave (daun kesom)
3 stalks thai basil leaves
3 stalks mints leaves
3 - 4 cekur leaves (I omitted as not available)
6 kaduk leaves
1 turmeric leaf
1 kaffir lime leaf

METHOD:

1. Let the cooked rice to cool in a big mixing bowl.
2. Add all ingredients in the rice and stir until all well mixed.  Adjust taste accordingly.

Pandan Cotton Cake Recipe

 

Pumpkin Swirl Open Crumb Sourdough Bread Recipe 

1. Autolyse - In a separate mixing bowl, mix all the pumpkin dough and plain dough ingredients (except levain) individually, stir until there is no more dry flour with a spatula.  Cover and leave for 1 to 3 hours.
2. Levain - Wet your hand, add 40g levain into the pumpkin and hand mixing until incorporated, about 3 - 4 minutes.  Repeat the same to plain dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
3. Fold - Lightly mist the counter top with water.  Wet your hand and scrapper.  Transfer pumpkindough to the counter top.  Pull and fold the four sides, flip over and round the dough.  Return to the same bowl.  Repeat the same to plain dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
4. Lamination -  Lightly mist the counter top with water and wet your hand.  Pour the plain dough onto the counter top. Pull from centre out to form a rectangle shape.  Repeat the same to pumpkin dough. Carefully lift up the pumpkin dough and place on top of the plain dough. Pick up one edge and fold into the center.  Pick up other edge and fold into the center over first section.  Fold the top down half way.  Fold the bottom up.  Put dough in a new dish (square pyrex dish).  Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
5. Stretch and Fold 1 - Fold dough in the dish. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
6. Stretch and Fold 2 - Repeat the same.  Cover and rest for 30 minutes
7. Stretch and Fold 3 - Repeat the same.  Cover and rest for 90 minutes.
8. Shape - Flour the counter top.  Shape and transfer to a heavily flour banneton.  
9. Proof - Proof at room temperature (RT) for 15 - 20 minutes.  Then retard overnight in the fridge for 12 - 16 hours.
10. Preheat oven, with the dutch oven at 250C for 30 minutes before baking.
11. Take bread dough out from the fridge, invert onto a parchment paper and scoring.  Immediately transfer the dough with the parchment paper to your preheated dutch oven.
12. Bake with cover on for 20 minutes.  Remove the cover and lower the temperature to 230C, continue bake for another 20 minutes.
13. Remove bread from oven and dutch oven. Let it cool on rack completely before slicing.