peony

once a year, esp after the Lunar New Year, can lah..., we normally buy abt 1 dozen cans..so after the New Year.. if there are remainder, munch on the extra cans with beer. I buy those about 35 - 50 S'pore dollars range... sometimes also receive as gift hamper.

I use chives as dumpling fillings. Another dish I do is, stir-fry with pork livers.

you can also snack on canned abalone, pickle choy sum - canned / bottle, instant noodle with spam n fried egg. of cause not forgetting hundred/thousand year old egg(pei tan) with pickle ginger or since you like salted food, boiled salted egg.

Dinner today. Potatoes sauté with pork slices n onions. this is a kind of stew made out of left-over in my fridge. It is know as choy keok in cantonese. Basically, I dump whatever is in my fridge, esp roast meat. Add dried mushrooms and stew in a sweet n sour soup. The important ingredient in this dish is ' kai choy ' - mustard leaves.

thanks Dejah... the colour comes from the eggs and if you used a pink ( or other colors ) fizzy drink, the cake would come out pinkish too

oh yes, those were the days...... the whisk, is it like a mosquito coil with a handle ? we make ours in an enamel basin.....think the cake can feed a family of 15...it was as huge as a big wok ...

thanks Dejah, for the mai lai kao recipe... it's my favourite too when I eat dim sum. I too like mai lai kao as it is not so dry ( after a day or two ) as compare to the steamed cake.

Dejah, your recipe would be the one my grandmother used as I don't think fizzy drinks are popular or even available during her time. As JasonZ mentioned ovalette is widely used in sponge and steamed cakes here. I've no idea what it's called in Mandarin but it can be omitted. I have made the cake without ovalette. Actually, I think it's the fizzy drink that does most of the job. It takes the place of baking soda... ovalette just makes the texture of the cake soft ? don't think my granny used this too during her time. She came from China by the way. She made this cake without ovalette n the fizzy drink.

this cake was very popular in my country when I was a young girl... then, we dont have an oven, so steaming is the only way we made cakes.. you can use any fizzy drink and the cake takes on the taste ( and color ) of the drink 2 eggs 130 g fine sugar 1 tsp ovalette ( can be omitted, tho cake may not be as soft ) 1 tsp vanilla extract 150 g flour 120 ml ice-cream soda / 7-up Whisk sugar and eggs till creamy and stiff. Add ovalette and vanilla extract. Continue to beat for another few more minutes. Add into the batter, one third of flour, then half the soda. Repeat and end with flour. Mix well after each addition. Line a bamboo steamer with greased-proof paper. Pour batter into a 6 - 8 inch bamboo steamer ( smaller steamer gives higher cake ). Steam on high heat over boiling water for 20 - 25 mins. Cool the cake before cutting as it crumbles when cut hot. notes : ovalette is a cake stablizer, and may not be available in the US. or western countries the cake can be steamed in any cake container.

Hiroyuki, you are so humorous, they def. need more than 10 mins dip in water. they have a chewy n v slight sticky texture, plain rice sticks taste springy or have a soft texture - to me, that is. I think because of the sticky texture, so can't deep fry these. If I had cook these in a non-stick wok, they would have stuck to the pan.

Here's the instructions at the back of the wrapper. anyone can translate into English ? thanks...

this is how I cook the tteokbokgi / toppogi... the Chinese way I soak 3 hours before they become pliable... they are soft and chewy, I find this a very nice texture. However, if you want them to be a bit firmer, maybe just soak for 2 - 2½ hours. They do softer a bit more while frying in the wok. I think these are made from glutinous rice because of the chewy texture.

this is the most likely recipe I wld try as it resembles more towards chinese cooking. I would replace hotdogs with minced or thinly sliced meat. add extra veggi, like cabbage or bok choy. pancake syrup ? not likely to add in, replace with hoisin/charsiew sauce thanks Domestic Goddess. so how long shd I soak the dried rice sticks ?

thanks a lot, SheenaGreena, for your timely advice, or I will most likely over-soak the rice sticks ! The Chinese have some types of dried rice sticks too, (look almost the same) and I have to soak these Chinese types over-night ! They are called ' nian kao ' - some sort of new year cake in the dried form.

thanks people for the quick reply...... both packets are in the dried form.... so, for the mochi, how do I rehydrate the rice sticks ? soak in water for a few hours or boil them ?

I cant read nor understand Japanese...so I am not sure what are these known as These were given to me when I was in Japan. I don't even know how to prepare them before cooking, let alone cook these. So can some kind souls help me to identify these and tell me how to cook them ?

lotus paste filling is not only popular in bao but also as a filling in bread buns. the reason, I guess is not popular in western countries maybe lotus seeds are not cheap like red beans. Also makining lotus paste is not as easy as making red bean paste.

it's a lengthy process to make lotus paste from scratch..... so nowadays, I bought ready-make , the lotus paste is actually the left over from my mooncake making.

Hong Kong flour is an all-purpose, soft wheat flour that is highly bleached. Bao that is made with Hong Kong flour will turn out whiter than those made with normal flour. Hong Kong flour is most suitable for making steamed bao.

It is the same over here, normally lotus paste or red bean paste baos have smooth top but I want to learn how to pleat bao and making pleats with lotus paste filling are not so messy as using char siew filling

the recipe is a hybrid of different recipes from various source... I change and adjust some of the ingredients. it's not from this forum.... this is the bao skin recipe 300 gm Hong Kong / bao flour 1 tsp double-acting baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 3 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp shortening 1 tbsp yeast 100-150 ml water - depend on flour mix all ingredients. Knead till smooth n elastic. Proof till double in size. (I use a breadmachine here) punch down, divide dough into equal pcs (abt. 30g wt each).Rest dough 10 min. Wrap with filling and shape. Place each bao on a pc of greaseproof paper. Proof for 30 min. Steam on high heat 8 - 10 min.

This is the first time I made bao. I am happy with this recipe as the skin is soft and chewy. However, my bao pleating needs a lot of improvement and pratice. Anyone can tell me how to make the pleats in bao properly ? very ugly pleatings of bao

thanks sanrensho and Hiroyuki I love eating these while I was in Kyoto last month ( sept ) but didnt know what they are called as I can't speak nor understand Japanese.

that was actually my first reaction when I was this packet of bones.... but after tasting them, I just can't stop munching....they are really good....

this is my fav snack while in Kyoto but I bought this from Hamamatsu, abt 4 hr ride from Kyoto. they are eel bones, very crunchy and addictive....