Chicken Buns, Sausage Buns

Time for savoury buns :)
Initial plan was chicken buns, but with some extra dough, I managed to add some sausage buns too :)

With generous chicken filling :)

With sausage filling

Love the texture of the buns and how the chicken taste oh so good with them
The sausage was a little too plain for me, I guess I will add something else next time, perhaps mayonnaise or something - anyhow, all gone pretty fast without any complain :)

Recipe for the buns can be viewed HERE
And for the chicken filling, the recipe can be viewed HERE (the one used for omelette filling but I changed to chicken)
As for the sausage, I just used normal frozen chicken sausage - the whole piece :)

I'm submitting these buns to  Aspiring Bakers #8 June'11 Bread Seduction hosted by Jasmine from The Sweetylicious at this LINK

Cheesy S'mores Mini Swiss Rolls

Remember my cheesy s'mores whoopie pies? I still have the cream cheese filling and the chocolate ganache sat prettily in the fridge
Such a waste if I don't finish them up

As a new member of NCC Indonesia I'm so keen in participating in their event - right now it's all about swissroll
So here it is - my cheesy s'mores mini swissroll :)

Chocolate swissroll recipe is from Hesti's site - soft and yummy :)
Since I don't have the pan with the size suggested by her - 28x28x3cm, I used my cookie pans - 25x25x2cm - divided the batter into 2
That explained why I had those 2 long mini swissrolls :)
It was such an experience - knowing it's only my second attempt on swissroll - the cakes were so thin I was so scared they could torn into pieces during handling - I was lucky they didn't
I could actually just pour everything into 1 pan if I prefer not so mini roll :)
And I was even luckier to be able to roll them without any crack whatsoever :P

What you need:

8 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
100g caster sugar
30g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
10g milk powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
85g melted butter
1/2 tsp chocolate paste

For filling:
marshmallow fluff mixed with cream cheese - recipe here

Topping:
chocolate ganache (recipe can be viewed at the same link for the filling above)
graham crackers crumbs

Preheat oven to 190degC
Grease pan with butter and top with parchment paper (I used 25x25x3cm - 2 of them for making mini rolls, normal size roll will be best to use 1 pan with size of 28x28x3cm)
Sieve plain flour, cocoa powder, milk powder and baking powder together - set aside
Beat eggs, salt and sugar on high speed til ribbon stage and doubled in volume
Add in sieved flour mixture - fold in gradually slowly till well mixed
Mix melted butter and chocolate paste in small bowl
Add in the butter mixture in the batter - fold in gradually slowly till well mixed
Pour batter on the pan(s)
Bake for approximately 8minutes for mini rolls (a little longer for normal roll)
(the surface should not be dry - spring to the touch, if overbake it can crack during rolling)
Let cool on cooling rack

After cooled, transfer the cake on parchment paper, and spread the filling
After done with the filling, roll the cake using the paper away from you, tighten it and keep the roll in the paper for 10 minutes or so, after that open the paper
Spread chocolate ganache on top of the roll and sprinkle graham crackers crumbs on top

Braised Meesua With Chicken & Greens In Abalone Sauce

I saw this recipe in Mind Your Body insert last week, looks yummy, and indeed this is really yummy and best of all - simple to make, of course not to forget - it's healthy too :)

What you need:

( I modified quite a bit to suit my family liking - the original recipe would taste too bland for me - of course will be way healthier than my version hehehehe...)

200g meesua - blanch in hot water to soften

100g chicken breast

4 cloves of garlic - crushed

1 pack of chyesim - cut and blanch in hot water

canola oil spread, water, sesame oil, light soya sauce, cooking wine, abalone sauce

Heat canola oil spread in the frying pan, stir fry garlic til fragrant

Add in water, bring to boil

Transfer half of the soup to a small pot and add in a pinch of chicken stock powder

Add in softened meesua to the remainig soup - mix well

Set aside

Marinade the chicken with sesame oil, light soya sauce and cooking wine

After cooked, transfer the chicken + the stock to a frying pan - simmer and adjust the taste if necessary

Continue to simmer til the stock only left a lil bit

Let cool - shred the chicken

Arrange meesua in serving plate / bowl - mix well with a few drops of sesame oil and abalone sauce

Top up the meesua with shredded chicken and blanched chyesim

Pour a lil soup on top

Eat while still hot and for me, I eat with bottled chilli sauce too

Yummy!

The recipe above is for family of 4 - below is the cost (approx)...

meesua = $1

chicken = $1.50

chyesim = $1

abalone sauce = $3

others = my existing stock around $1

total = $7.50

I'm submitting this dish to  June $20 Budget Meal - Specific Ingredient is "Noodle" at this LINK

I am submitting this post to [June $20 Budget Meal - Noodle] host by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise at this Link HERE.

Rolls With Nutella & Apricot Jam

I love baking bread, but my hands is far from talented when it comes to bread shaping, that's why if you notice, my bread are all with boring shapes *grin*
My favorite is rolls, easy and look nice hehe...just flatten the dough, spread the filling and roll :)
So, here it is - again, but this time I made with nutella and apricot jam fillings  :)

Soft texture til the next day...

Recipe for the bread base is from HERE

For the nutella filling, I brushed the top with mixture of beaten egg and fresh milk
For the apricot jam filling, I used apricot jam that has been put in microwave for 30 seconds and strained to get a smooth thick liquid

Yummy combination - when you think you have enough with the chocolatey nutella, you move to the tangy version of apricot - perfect with a cuppa! :)
As for how it looks - as boring as can be - whats most important for me is the whole family enjoy eating them :)

I'm submitting these buns to Aspiring Bakers #8 June'11 Bread Seduction hosted by Jasmine from The Sweetylicious at this LINK

Cheesy S'mores Whoopie Pies

LBT #6 challenge for this month is something that has been highly raved by many food bloggers especially in the US lately - was about to give it a try when I saw the announcement of the challenge - great timing!

So, here it is.... I made S'mores whoopie pies, but I found the marshmallow filling was too overly sweet, so I added cream cheese and it worked well! I know it's not the same kind of S'mores people know, but as long as I like it and the family does too :P
Idea is from HERE

Texture is perfect! Pillowy soft and fluffy, taste supper yummy! Especially with the cheesy filling - as you know, chocolate and cheese will never go wrong! :)

What you need:

***For the cake:

(adapted from Ricke - one of the host for LBT)

I found this recipe does suit my liking much more than the original recipe where I got the idea from....

125g unsalted butter

200g brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

280g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

250ml buttermilk

Preheat oven to 180degC

Sieve together baking soda, cocoa powder and salt

Beat in high speed butter and brown sugar til doubled in volume

Add in egg, vanilla (low speed)

Still in low speed, add in flour mixture alternatively with buttermilk - mix well

Drop 1 tbsp for each pie (I used lightly greased muffin tray)

Bake for 10minutes approximately (do not overbake otherwise it'll become chewy cookies)

Transfer on cooling rack til cool completely

***For the filling:

(recipe is from Martha Stewart)

Marshmallow fluff:

*2 egg whites

*1/3 cup sugar

*1/8 tsp (half of 1/4 tsp) cream of tartar

*1/2 tsp vanilla extract

===> Place egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a pan, cook over low heat - whisk continuously til sugar dissolved and the mixture are warm to the touch - around 3 to 4minutes

Transfer to mixer bowl and beat starting from low speed, gradually increaing to high, til stiff and glossy - around 5 to 7minues

Add vanilla, and mix well until combined

To add the marshmallow fluff with 250g cream cheese - diced - beat in low speed til completely mixed and smooth

***For the topping:

2.5 ounces semi sweet chocolate - chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

===> Heat cream in small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to just a boil, cos if it boils for too long, it'll boil out of pot - so pls watch carefully

When it has come to a boil, pour over the chocolate, and allow to sit for a few mins. Whisk til smooth

***graham crackers crumbs / chcolate wafer crumbs for garnish (the latter one doesn't represent the real s'mores but who cares, it's nice!)

To assemble:

Pipe filling on the flat sides of the half of the cakes

( I skipped this step: use kitchen torch to lightly toast the marshmallow filling)

Top each with one of the remaining cakes - flat side down

Place ganache on top of each whoopie pie and spread in circular pattern, sprinkle with graham crackers crumbs - let it set up

I keep them in the container in the fridge, best eaten when you let it back to the room temperature - or else can microwave for 30 seconds

I enjoy eating this pies...so many other kind of variations that you can think of will do just awesome

Think about lemon and lemon cheese filling.... pandan and cheese filling... green tea and red beans filling... etc...etc.... :P

Chewy Balls In Peanut Sauce (Cilok) - A Traditional Snack From Bandung - West Java, Indonesia

I never know about this snack til a few years ago when I visited Bandung - recommended by my sis whom lived there at that time, it's a savoury tasty chewy balls eaten with peanut sauce - mostly sold by street vendors

Why the name is Cilok?
CILOK stands for aCI dicoLOK
Aci means sago flour in Sundanese language (native in West Java) - sago flour is the main ingredient used
Dicolok means poked - cos how the people eat these balls is by poking it with skewer (like satay skewer)

I saw this made by some LBT members, made me having that instant craving :)

It's actually very similar to glutinuous rice balls with sweet fillings sold here in supermarket, but this is the savoury version without any filling, but instead dip into peanut sauce before you eat it...

Thanks to Ricke - the recipe is a comfort to those Indonesians living far away from hometown :)

What you need:

200g sago flour (or tapioca flour)
200g all purpose flour
2 cloves of garlic - crushed til smooth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken stock powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 stalks of spring onion (cut - use only the green part)
400ml water

enough water to boil the balls

Mix and sieve sago and all purpose flour - add in spring onion, set aside
Heat water on medium fire, add in salt, chicken stock powder and pepper - bring to boil, off heat
Add in the chicken stock (still hot) to the flour mixture - mix with wooden spoon
Keep kneading with spoon til elastic and can be shaped into balls (if still too dry can add a little more water OR while pouring the stock you feel it's elastic enough, no need to finish the stock)
Boil a pot of water
Shape the dough into balls and put in the boiling water
Leave them inside the pot til all floating - after all floating, leave it to simmer for 15minutes
Drain the water, arrange in steaming plate, steam for approximately 20minutes on high heat

How to make the peanut sauce:

What you need:
(this recipe is from my mum)

75g ground fried peanut
5 candlenuts - fry without oil til a little golden brown (not too brown cos it'll be bitter)
1 large red chilli
1 tbsp vinegar
200ml warm water, salt, sugar, sweet dark soya sauce (kecap manis)

Blend til smooth ground peanut, candlenuts and chilli - put in a pot
Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook over low heat til boiling
Add in a little sweet dark soya sauce and stir while simmering til thicken

Ricke's recipe for the peanut sauce is just as nice:

What you need:

250g ground fried peanut
2 large red chillies
3 cloves of garlic - cut
2 lime leaves - torn
1/2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp lime juice (from large lime)
500ml water

Blend chillies and garlic til smooth
Heat a little oil on frying pan, stir fry garlic, chillies, lime leaves til fragrant, add in water - mix well
Add in ground peanut, followed by salt and sugar, mix well
Bring to boil and stir continuously - it will be thickened
Add in lime juice, mix well - off heat

Note about this cilok:

***Original recipe - they don't use plain flour, instead they use all sago flour, I tried before, the balls turned out so chewy that after eating a few, my jaw hurts *grin*

***Besides peanut sauce, normal bottled chilli sauce is already nice! :)
***More modern version of this cilok comes with filling too - from cheese, chicken, fish or egg
Yet to try but sounds worth trying! :)

Potato Buns

I've been curious how this buns taste - never tried one before, buns made with potatoes as one of the ingredients

Saw Melly made this long time ago - recipe adapted from MamaFaMi's site, I tried and satisfied with the result - but the taste is a little too plain for me, except for the top part with the custard - I ate the buns with adding some pineapple jam over it - yum! :)

Texture wise - soft and fluffy but best eaten on the day it's made...

What you need:

For the buns:
150ml fresh milk
1/2 egg - keep the balance for glazing
2 tbsp sugar
90g mashed potatoes (clean, steam til tender, peel and mash til smooth)
350g bread flour
1 tbsp milk powder
1tsp dried yeast
1/2 tbsp butter

For the custard:
2 tbsp custard powder
3/4 cup fresh milk
3 tbsp sugar

To make the custard topping:
Put all ingredients in a pot, mix well
Put the pot on low fire, keep stirring til thickened - set aside

To make the buns:
Using breadmaker:
Pour milk, egg, sugar and potatoes in the bread pan - followed by breadflour, milk powder, yeast
Set the breadmaker into dough function - let knead for 5minutes and then add in butter
It will do the process of kneading and proofing for 1hr 30mins
Divide dough into 16pcs, shape into balls
Arrange on the greased baking pan(s)
Cover and let rise til doubled in volume
Before baking, brush with egg mixed with a little fresh milk (lightly beaten both)
Pipe the custard on top as desired
Bake in preheated oven of 180degC for 25mins

Note: I found the buns best eaten on the day it's made - a little hard the next day, but texture is perfect after microwave for 15-30 seconds

I'm submitting these buns to Aspiring Bakers #8 June'11 Bread Seduction hosted by Jasmine from The Sweetylicious at this LINK