High Fidelity

Chicken and Mushroom pie

Chicken and Mushroom pie, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Strictly speaking this is not a real pie. It is essentially creamy chicken and mushroom in a dish with a puff pastry lid. However, with the buttery puff pastry, it is almost as good as the real thing. Since it is relatively simple and equally delicious as a real pie, it won't be long before I make this again for dinner.

Serves 2 hungry adults:

• 2 chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1-2 tablespoons butter
• Oil
• 1 whole onion, coarsely sliced
• 150 grams portobello mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely sliced
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• about 1/4-1/3 cup white wine
• about 1/3-1/2 cup chicken stock or mixture of chicken stock and milk
• about 3-4 tablespoons pure cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg yolk

1. Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Sear the chicken on both sides until lightly browned (the chicken doesn't have to be fully cooked at this stage). Season with salt and pepper. Do not overcrowd the skillet, cook in batches if required. Remove the chicken once seared and set aside.

2. Add enough oil to the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium, add onion, garlic and mushroom. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion has softened and the mushroom is almost cooked. Toss the pan frequently to cook them evenly without burning. Set the mixture aside with chicken.

3. Preheat the oven to 220 degree Celsius. On the same skillet, add a bit more oil if required, add the shallot and lightly fry it for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add white wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add chicken stock or mixture of chicken stock and milk. Bring the liquid to boil. Add chicken, onion, garlic and mushroom back to the skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if required. Add the cream and simmer for another 5 minutes or so and turn of the heat. The mixture should not be too watery but with creamy and slightly thick sauce.

4. Invert pie dish on puff pastry and cut the puff pastry around the pie dish. The puff pastry lid should be larger than the top of the pie dish so it can cover the pie dish entirely with the edges folded down the the side of the dish. 

5. Pour the chicken and mushroom mixture into a big pie dish or 2 smaller pie dish. Beat the egg yolk, using a pastry brush, brush the egg yolk on the edge of the puff pastry and cover the pie dish with the puff pastry lid. Firmly press edges of pastry against the side of the dish. Brush the top of the puff pastry lid with the egg yolk. Score the top of puff pastry with a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern.

6. Bake the pie in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has turned golden brown. Serve hot.

Orange fairy cupcakes

I have been baking cupcakes at home last month instead of paying for them at the shops. Cupcakes are quick and fun to make especially if you have a mixer at home. This recipe makes nice buttery cupcakes with orange flavour. Bake a big batch of them then you will have enough desserts to last a whole week (well, almost).

Makes 6 muffin size cupcakes or 15 small cupcakes:

• 115g butter, softened to room temperate
• 112g caster sugar
• half teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, light beaten
• 220g self-raising flour, sifted
• 145ml milk
• zests from 2 oranges (wax-free oranges)
• 3/4 cup thickened cream
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar
• some marmalade

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius. Line the muffin pan with cupcake cases (optional, I didn't use them but only buttered the pan lightly to prevent sticking).

2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the orange zests and gradually beat in eggs. Beat thoroughly.

3. Add half the flour and half the milk. Stir slowly by a rubber spatula. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and mix them with the rubber spatula. Then beat with the mixer for just a few seconds to thoroughly combine the ingredients but do not overbeat the mixture.

3. Divide the mixture evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on what size your cupcakes are. The cupcakes are ready when a knife or skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.

4. Cool the cakes before cutting and filling. Use a sharp pairing knife, hold it at a downward angle and cut a round cap from the top of each cupcake.

5. Whip the cream with icing sugar until thick. Place some whipped cream in each cake. Spread some marmalade on the round caps before putting them on top of the cream on each cake.

6. Store leftover cakes in airtight container in the fridge.

福建蝦麵 - Hokkien prawn noodle

福建蝦麵 - Hokkien prawn noodle, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Good hokkien prawn noodle is hard to come by in Melbourne. So I decided to try cooking it myself last weekend. I found a properly good recipe here but it is a bit too time-consuming so I simplified the recipe but the results were surprisingly good.

The secret to making a great prawn noodle soup is in the stock. Here, pork fat, pork belly (or ribs), prawn heads and shells are patiently browned and caramelised before being turned into a rich and well-coloured stock.

Serves 2 hungry adults:

- 14 tiger prawns, shelled and de-veined (keep all the heads and shells for stock)
- 250-300 gram pork belly (or ribs or soft bone or tail or ideally mixture of all)
- 5 shallots, thinly sliced
- 100 gram pork fat, cubed
- 4 dried chillies
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil
- half teaspoon salt
- half teaspoon black peppercorns
- half star anise
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce or to taste
- 500 gram Hokkien noodle (or a mixture of Hokkien noodle and dried rice vermicelli ideally for more interesting texture; dried rice vermicelli particularly soaks up the soup and thus the flavour really well)
- 2 fresh chillies
- more light soy sauce
- 1-2 spring onions, sliced with an angle, about 2-3 cm

1. Heat wok over high heat. Add oil and pork fat cubes. Gently fry the pork fat until it is crisp and brown. The pork fat will release more oil and flavour the oil nicely. Remove, drain well on paper towels, and set aside. Next, with the same oil, turn the heat to medium-low, gently fry the shallots until brown but not burned. Remove, drain well on paper towels, and set aside.

2. With the same wok and oil, turn it up to medium-high, brown the pork on one side. Add dried chillies while browing the pork on another side. Once done, remove and place them in a stock pot. Set aside.

3. With the same wok again, add prawn heads and shells to the wok, frying slowly until shells are caramelised and well-coloured. Remove and add to stock pot. Add 6 cups of water, salt, peppercorns, and star anise to stock pot. Bring to the boil then turn down to a leisurely simmer. Simmer for at least 2 hours or more until stock tastes richly flavoured (you can reduce it further if required). Add palm sugar and soy sauce to taste. Simmer another 30minutes. Strain stock. Keep the pork. Slice or shred the pork for toppings later.

4. Now, poach the prawns in the simmering stock till cooked, about 1-2 minutes. Drain them and set aside. Cut the fresh chillies, place them in a small bowl with some light soy sauce. Cook Hokkien noodles in large pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain well. Divide both into two deep bowls.

5. Top the noodles with prawns, sliced/shredded pork, fried shallots, fried pork fat cubes and spring onions. Bring the prawn and pork stock back to the boil. Ladle the stock over each bowl of noodles and serve immediately with the fresh chillies in soy sauce for dipping (optional).

Cheese Soufflé

It's been a while since I updated this blog. Here is a French classic - Cheese Soufflé. The cheese puff is light-as-air but the cheese cream underneath, however, is as rich as it gets. This is a recipe adapted from Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cooking Techniques. It asks for Gruyère cheese but I substituted it with some British cheese which I believe should be the Red Leicester cheese because I don't have Gruyère and Red Leicester cheese melts really well.

Serves 2

- 2 eggs, separated
- 50ml dry white wine
- salt and pepper
- 100ml double cream
- 75g cheese (any easy-melting cheese)

1. Put the egg yolks and wine in a large bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water and whisk them togther until the mixture is pale and thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when lifted. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk until the mixture is cool.

2. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold the whites gently but thoroughly into the egg yolk mixture and season with salt and pepper.

3. Bring the cream to the boil in a pan and stir in two-thirds of the cheese until melted and smooth. Pour into two ramekins.

4. Spoon the egg mixture on top of the cheese cream, filling almost to top. Run a finger around the the inside of the rim to push the mixture away from the edge. Sprinke each with the rest of the cheese.

5. Bake at a preheated oven of 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes or until the soufflé are puffed up and golden brown. Serve at once

Crêpes Suzette

Flambéeing crêpes suzette, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Crêpes Suzette is a typical French dessert but I haven't seen it in any restaurant that I have been to. This is a recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I really like the intense orange flavour of it. If you prepare the crêpes and the orange butter ahead, it is easy and fast to finish this classic dessert. Practise the folding and flaming of the crêpes until you become good at it had you wished to perform this dish in public.


For 15 to 18 crêpes 4 to 5 inches in diameter:

- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 3 tablespoons orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
- 1 cup flour
- 5 tablespoons melted butter

1. Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed until well mixed and the batter is smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

2. Brush the skillet with oil. Heat the pan over moderately high heat until it begins to smoke. Immediately remove from heat, pour in a 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all direction to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan in a thin film.

3. Return the pan to heat for 20-30 seconds. Once the under side in a nice light brown, turn the crêpe and brown lightly for about 15-20 seconds on the other side. As doen, slide the crêpe onto a wire rack and let cool several minutes before stacking them on a plate. Grease the skillet again and proceed with the rest of the crêpes. You can keep the crêpes warm by covering them with a dish and seeting them over simmering water. Crêpes also freeze perfectly.


For the orange butter (6 serves):

- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 2 bright-skinned oranges, wax-free
- 200 grams unsalted butter
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup strained orange juice
- 3 tablespoons orange liqueur

1. Peel the skin of the orange (only the orange part) and place them together with the sugar in a food processor. Process until the orange zest and sugar are finely blended. Cut the butter into small pieces, and add into the processor and process until smooth and almost fluffy.

2. Then, cream in the orange juice and the orange liqueur by droplets. Add a bit more orange juice if the muxture still remain creamy. Cover and refrigerate.


To finish off:

- 18 cooked crêpes
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1/3 cup orange liqueur
- 1/3 cup cognac

1. Place the orange butter in a large skillet set over low-moderate heat (or you can use a chafing dish set over an alcohol flame shoud you wish to perform this in public). Heat the butter until it is bubbling.

2. Dip both sides of a crêpe in the butter. Fold it in half and in half again, to form a wedge. Place it at the edge of the pan. Rapidly continue with the rest of the crêpes until all have been dipped, folded and arranged.

3. Sprinkle the crêpes with the sugar. Pour over them the orange liqueur and cognac. Avert your face and ignite the liqueur with a lighted match or a lighter. Shake the pan gently back and forth while spooning the flaming liqueur over the crêpes until the fire dies down. Serve.

Steamed chicken-and-leek bun

steamed chicken-and-leek bun, originally uploaded by yongtze.

I have been wanting to eat cha siu baau (Cantonese barbecue pork buns) for a while.

Actually, no! The truth is that I have been dying to bake for a long time. But my new place that I moved into doesn't have an oven! That means no pie, quiches, tarts, gratins, fresh bread, roast chicken, the list can go on and on.

Well anyway, I had the sudden urge of eating a chicken-and-leek pie one day. Obviously I can't bake any pie without an oven. So I had this idea of using chicken-and-leek as a filling in Chinese steamed buns. After a few days of gathering ingredients and researching on the recipe for steamed buns, the end-product is what you see above.

The steamed bun looks yellow-brownish instead of white because I didn't use bleached flour. The dough for Chinese steamed-bun is actually not hard to make. It is double risen, first with yeast and then with baking powder, which makes the buns light and fluffy. Most recipes I found reccommend low-glutten flour to make the buns light and soft. I used a mixture of plain flour and corn flour which works fine too.

You can be creative with the fillings, which can be either savoury (e.g. the classic barbecue pork bun) or sweet. With sweet fillings like lotus seed paste or red bean paste these buns make great afternoon snack.

Makes 6 steamed buns:

- 3/4 teaspoon dried yeast
- 80ml lukewarm water
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2/5 cup corn flour
- 20g caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon oil (vegetable oil or pork lard)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Fillings:

- 1 cup leek (white part only, chopped)
- 2 shallots (chopped)
- 1 cup chicken meat (diced or minced)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons pure cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil (optional)

1. Dissolve the sugar in the water, then add the yeast. Stir and set aside until foamy.

2. Sift the flour and corn flour in a bowl and add the yeast mixture and the oil. Using a wooden spoon, mix the ingredients to a rough dough. Knead for about 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it is very sticky, knead in a little more flour.

3. Lightly grease a bowl with some oil and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside to rise in a warm place (which means anywhere in Melbourne right now) until double in volume.

4. For the filling, melt butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Add leek and shallot and cook for 5 minutes or until they are soft. Stir frequently not to let the leek and shallot brown. Add in chicken and cook until the meat is cooked. Pour in the cream, stir and mix well. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Season to taste. Add the roasted sesame oil if using. Let the filling cool down.

5. Once the dough doubles in volume, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Flatten it and make a well in the centre. Place the baking powder in the well and gather up the edges to enclose the baking powder. Pinch the edges to seal. Lightly knead the dough for several minutes to even incorporate the baking powder.

6. Divide the dough into 6 portions. Working with one portion at the time, press the dough into circles with the edges thinner than the centre. Place the filling on the dough. Draw the sides in to enclose the filling. Pinch the top together and put each bun on a square of greaseproof paper (which I don't have it so I just put the bun on a lightly greased plate as shown below).



7. Place the buns well apart because they will continue to rise during steaming. Steam over simmering water in a wok or anything that suits you for 15 minutes. Serve hot. Steamed buns freeze well too.

Fish porridge with local snapper

Fish porridge , originally uploaded by yongtze.

It's been a while since I put up a new recipe here. My guilt finally hits and here is a fish porridge recipe that is light and yet subtly tasty. Be sure the fish is fresh as it is the freshness that makes the porridge. Also, to cut down the cooking time, I used a stick blender to make the porridge smooth and creamy.

Serves 2-4:

- 1 cup of jasmine rice
- salt
- 1 whole snapper, about 1 kg
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 10 cups of water
- 2 good knob of gingers, cut into thin shreds
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 spring onions
- 2 shallots
- 2 tomatoes, skiinned and cut into cubes

1. First we fillet the snapper. Keep the trimmings, tail, bones, and fish head for the fish stock. Cut the fillets into 2cm x 2cm smaller pieces.

2. Next, we start making the fish stock. Place the water, the trimmings, tails, fish bones, head, onion, half of the ginger, 1 spring onion (roughly sliced) into a stock pot and bring to boil on high heat. Once boiling, turn down to medium heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes, adding salt to taste.

3. Meanwhile, wash the rice thoroughly and drain the water. Add the oil to the rice and  mix them well in a heavy-bottomed stockpot. Set aside, let the grain to soak up the oil.

4. Once the fish stock is ready, pour it through a sieve into the rice and start cooking with high heat until the rice turns soft. Turn down the heat to low-medium to slowly cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Once the rice is really soft, use a stick blender to blend the rice for the creamy texture.

5. Add sliced fish, tomatoes and the other half of the gingers into the porridge and simmer for another 10 minutes, keep stirring as the porridge tends to burn at the bottom once blended. Salt to taste. Thinly slice the other spring onion.

6. For confit shallot: slowly cook the shallots with oil over very low heat for about 10 minutes until very crispy. Keep the oil together with the shallot.

7. To serve: Pour the fish porridge into serving bowls. Place some thinly sliced spring onion, confit shallot and its cooking oil on the porridge. For stronger flavour, sprinkle a few drops of sesame oil and some white pepper.

Steamed asparagus with kaiser fleish and garlic

Steamed asparagus with kaiser fleish and garlic, originally uploaded by yongtze.

I have been ordering organic vegetables and fruits "Box of the Week" ($35) from "Green Line Organic Direct" for a few weeks and have to say that I am quite pleased with it. To give an idea what you can get in a box: Today I received 5 apples, 4 mandarins, 2 navel oranges, 4 bananas, 4 roma tomatoes, 3 potatoes, half a pumpkin, one bunch of celery, a small bag of baby spinach leaves, about 12 mushrooms, 2 carrots, 1 iceberg lettuce, and about 12 asparagus. Not exactly cheap but I would say it is reasonable and comparable to Safeway Homeshop (Not even organic).

With the asparagus, I decided to steam it quickly and then mix with pan-fried kaiser fleish (kind of like smoked bacon) and garlic. I have been eating steamed vegetables recently for its simplicity, speed and obvious health reasons.

Another reason is that as I always cook rice on the stove - when the rice is being boiled and cooked, just wait until most of the water evaporates and little holes appear in the surface on the rice, throw in the cut vegetables onto the rice and put the lid back on. While the rest of the water continues to boil and evaporates as the rice is being cooked, the steam cooks the vegetables in 2-5 minutes. So I get the rice and the vegetables cooked in the same pot and around the same time, extremely simple, fast and less washing-up to do!

I like squeezing my orange juice

Orange juice, originally uploaded by yongtze.

"We demand a level of convenience that is immodest.... We have lost familiarity with how things were made and the association of effort with reward" - Camilla Plum

How you like your omelette?

I'm just wondering how people like their omelettes? Fully cooked and slightly browned on one side? Or like French omelettes - moist, creamy inside?