Tepee

Soya Bean Milk Make your own from organically grown non-GM beans and you'll find it's superior to the ones sold in cartons. After trying this recipe, vary it according to your preference. Add or reduce water to suit the thickness level you like. 200 g soya beans 2 l water 3 pcs pandan leaves (if available) 200 g rock sugar or brown sugar or white sugar to taste small knob of ginger (optional) muslin/cotton bag large pot 1. Cover beans with water that measures around one and a half times the height of the beans in the jar to allow for expansion. 2. Soak for at least 6 hours or overnight. 3. Rub off as much skin from the beans as possible. Fish out or wash away the skins. This step may be omitted if you do not mind some 'tartness' in the drink. Drain beans. 4. Measure out the 2 litres water. Save around 2 cups water for second blending. If your blender is big enough, you may blend the beans in the water. If not, do it in batches. Blend as fine as possible. 5. As you blend (if you're doing in batches), transfer the blended mixture into the bag. Sqquueeeze. Pour squeezed milk into a large pot. 6. Add the reserved 2 cups of water to the squeezed-out residue, and blend a second time. Repeat step 5. 7. (Optional step) Scratch out the skin from the ginger. Smash with the side of a cleaver. The ginger is to cancel out the too 'cooling' effect of soya milk and to take away the raw bean smell. Some people may prefer to add a drop or 2 of almond or vanilla extract to do the job. 8. Notwithstanding the aforementioned flavorings, the traditional flavoring is pandan. Wash pandan leaves and knot them. Throw into milk. 9. Make sure the pot has a capacity of at least double the amount of soya milk, as the milk tends to boil over very quickly. When boiling the milk, you don't have to keep watch for the first 10 minutes, but once 10 minutes is up, don't even blink. 10. Reduce heat once it starts to boil. Add sugar. My preference is rock sugar because I feel it makes the milk feel smoother. The soya milk is also delicious without any sugar. Give it a stir or two, and your 'power' drink is ready. Notes: 1. The drink can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. 2. Black soya beans can be substitued for a higher iron content. However the beans need to be soaked longer as the skin is a bit more stubborn. Don't bother getting all the skin off. You only have 24 hours in a day. 3. Waste not, want not. Those leftover residue can be used to make Okara Bread (tried to use hyperlink but couldn't. Here's the link for the recipe. http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/06/wheat-okara-bread.html) or use as fertilizer to sprinkle over your plants. 4. I should stop adding notes, but I can't. This recipe is a good base to make to fu fah (will add a link when the linky thingy is fixed). 5. Soya milk is great mixed with carrot juice. Keywords: Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Vegetarian, Easy, Beans, Chinese, Blender, Immersion Blender ( RG1412 )

Double yum! Hz, you still need salt meh, with all that salted fish?

Well, the shells are very porous...but, what a great idea, I haven't come across this variation before. Where's it from?

I'm really loving your cooking series...less thinking for my dinner menu. I usually like to drizzle more xao xing fah tieu after this dish is ready. And I'd buy white fungus which is as unbleached as possible...you dunno what chemicals they use, ya know?

Yes, in chinese(mandarin), it's 'yang' which can mean sheep/goat/lamb/ewe/ram. Perhaps he's born in that year -----> its attributes .

Thanks, Toliver...that's fine, my kids are 4 -11. Hz, thanks for doing all these homework for me.

Thanks, Trillium. Hope you guys are feeling better now. If you miss making the mooncakes for this full moon, there's one every month ...rooting for you. Sheetz, I've made yellow mung bean paste for traditional buns, which is drier and not so pasty, but not for mooncakes. I'd say go for it. With all your practise this year, you'll be able to 'wow' them all with a range of mooncakes next year. Tks for reporting on your experiments with different fats. Mooncake paste is cooked more firm and has more oil in it than paste for other pastries. I guess you could soften the lotus paste by adding a bit of water to make baos and shanghai pancakes.

OK, my almost 4 yo thinks I'm seow (off my rocker), laughing at the screen!!! One of these days, they are coming to take me away...........tks to this forum!

Although we have Lyle's here, I use generic golden syrup purchased from a cake supplies shop, more convenient for me. Are there any such shops in your town? Apparently, using Lyle's would result in a nice dark-colored skin. I add a tablespoon of molasses into my skin dough. Some people add dark soy sauce. Meantime, I hope you're storing your red bean paste properly....saran wrap and in an airtight container in the fridge.

For very clear instructions on how to make golden syrup for mooncakes...scroll down to the last post. ...which means you can't do your mooncakes for another 2 weeks at least. Can you not find Lyle's Golden Syrup? This is the best...for color results and reliability.

Thanks, Anna. Will fit in a stop there.

Super! He loves Indian food. As for learning some cooking skills, I think I'll point him here and the forums will make a cook out of him in no time. Ahhh....but is it 'Indomie' brand? Most of us are rather fussy about the texture of instant noodles as well as the taste of the seasoning.

Ouch (!) and ouch (!). Before we go into the fix-it...EVERYBODY....give a BIG hand of applause to Jack for his brave attempts, considering the difficulty of obtaining ingredients and I bet he's never tasted half of them in his life. Jelly mooncake: Yours look so pretty in the mould. I've never made jelly mooncake in a wooden mould before, but I know it can be done. I suppose a wooden mould has more 'grip' on the jelly, so releasing could be somewhat more difficult. Unless...the mould was well-oiled and just before pouring in the jelly, wet. Was the texture of the jelly firm or soft, Jack? Traditional mooncake: Very nice. I can see skill in the moulding as the skin is thin enough. Like brownies, it's better to underbake than to overbake a mooncake. 10 minutes at a go. That way you have control over how dark you want it. Baking too long might cause the filling to expand too much, possibly cracking the surface, and the mooncake might go out of shape. Usually, if the crust/skin is not dark enough (which is a desirable tone), go a few rounds of baking for 10 mins, take out and rest for 10, put in another 10mins...and so on. The minis are too cute. Were they finished off as well?

What a whopper!! It's possibly heavier than me. A shame that there were no pics of it carved. Sounds delicious.

Psst...DH was the one taking the pics, remember? I must introduce him to you....or maybe not. You may get into trouble for being The Influence.

Tks for the feedback. So...it's pathetic cooking in 1-2-3 steps vs "utter crap". Thank God for the important nutrients from the Newcastle Brown Ale!

A1: Must be the flourescent lighting. Young ginger. A2: The dessert scores big points for its refreshing-ness, but the level of difficulty in preparing it boils down to the ability to open cans. Simple syrup...I suspect from the cans too.

Thks, chiantiglace! There's a 'X 2' at the side, to soften the blow. DH said to do it '100/2". Sorry to hijack the post, Ling.

Yuk Tho Hin, D'sara Uptown. Have only been there to buy mooncakes...first time having dinner there. We were told to go to Yuk Woo Hin and so was stumped when we saw the chiu pai as Yuk Tho Hin. They must be related, no? SIL's a regular...the dinner was a steal...at RM330! The children's table had Mango Chicken, Sweet n Sour Pork, Steamed Triple-Egg and Long Life Noodles.

Many thanks, Carlsbad!...and mizducky, for putting my mind at ease about thread hijacking.

Oh, Sheetz (long sound, not short), I'm so happy for you!. You've discovered the beauty of homemade filling. I know it is irresistible alright...and you sort of feel you deserve to be rewarded after all that pressing through the sieve (worst part for me, too) and the stirring. Have you made the mooncakes already? No, I haven't tried using butter or lard. I don't think the filling will look very pretty with solidified butter or lard if you refrigerate the mooncakes, though taste-wise, it should add some zing. Come to think of it, I'm sure they used lard in the early days.

As a matter of fact, I did make a cute little dinosaur..........

Cool, Jo-mel! OK, as promised, Round 2 of my Big Fat Mid-Autumn Feast. I come in peace, not to tease.

My page-boy, who's grown into a 21-year old young man (first time abroad), has just left for one-year studies in Newcastle. He has never cooked a day in his life. Apparently, he stuffed a bag full with his favourite instant noodles!!! Would appreciate suggestions on where to eat and where to buy stuff for easy-to-cook meals. Thanks.

Thanks, Carlsbad, for your suggestions...with your profile name, now why didn't I think of asking you for directions??? Yes, we'll probably visit Legoland, since the place we're staying offers a discounted entry. Oh dear, this thread is on San Diego...sorry for swinging it off-tangent. Anyway... although, yes, we would appreciate cheap eats suggestions, we won't be bringing the calculator into every place . I would love to visit a farmer's market or 2, and a well-stocked supermarket...I'm always overwhelmed with the size and choices in your supermarts. We'd like to pick up some produce to fix some meals on our own (our unit has a full-kitchen), quick meals like pasta, fried rice, sandwiches and such. However, during winter...we'll be there from Nov 27 to Dec 11...what's good to buy? Also, we love bakeries. BTW, food isn't allowed to be brought into Disneyland, is it? I remember outside food wasn't allowed into Paris Disneyland. Tks.