Katsutera (Japanese Honey Cake)

Adapted from several recipes written in Chinese I collected a while ago.

My Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 50g bread flour
• 150g granulated sugar
• 35ml full-fat milk
• 65g honey (I used Rowse active manuka with clover honey)

My Method:

1. Preheat oven at 170C. Mix plain flour and bread flour, sift twice with a fine sieve.
2. Warm 20ml of milk in microwave oven at high temperature for about 30 seconds then mix it well with another 15ml of cold milk. Add and mix honey until completely dissolves, set aside.
3. Beat 6 eggs in a large stainless steel mixing bowl over a pot of hot water. Make sure the bottom does not touch the water. Leave it until the stainless steel bowl becomes slightly warm.
   
   
4. Gently whisk at the slowest speed or by hand for about 1 minute. Add sugar in 3 batches while continue to beat at the slowest speed. Then beat at high speed until the mixture is slightly thicken to an extent that droplets dropped from the beater stay visible on the surface for at least few seconds. If the egg foam is not thick and stable enough, the addition and mixing of flour in later stage will kill all the form so the cake will sink during baking. Using a hand mixer, it took about 9-10 minutes.
5. Add the honey/milk mixture in 3 batches. Beat at low speed for about 30 seconds after each batch. 
6. Add flour in 3 batches. Gently mix by hand for 10 seconds after each batch. Then mix at slowest speed until the mixture is so thick that a figure "8" can be "written" on the surface. (Don't worry about over-mixing. Gluten is supposed to be developed in this stage to give the cake some texture.)
   
   
7. Pour into a loaf tin (silicone one or metal one lined with parchment paper). The tin should be about 80% full. Insert a knife or chopstick into the batter and draw zig zags in different directions several times. It helps eliminate big bubbles and distribute small bubbles evenly.
8. Bake at 170C for 10 minutes, then bake for another 50 minutes at 150C.
9. After baking, cover the top with foil* and flip over (so that the bumpy top side is facing down while the smoother bottom now becomes the top). Put the cake (still with the tin) into a sealed plastic bag or freezer. Put it in fridge for at least 4 hours before taking the cake out of tin to serve. The sides of the cake can be sliced away by a wet bread knife.

One-line Verdict:

Geez. Even though the cake resembles a simple pound cake, it's difficult to make! Not for baking newbies.

Verdict:

• Last time I had Katsutera was probably back in 2005 or 2006. Honestly I can hardly remember the taste and texture. Hence I am not sure how well or bad I did in baking this katsutera.
• The cake is sweeter than most other cakes I made before but it is not bad. After all, katsutera is meant to be sweet. I also love the subtle hint of honey in the cake.
• An electric mixer (whether it's a hand mixer or stand mixer), in my opinion, is definitely essential in making this cake. I quite can't imagine how long it'd take to hand beat 6 whole eggs into stable foam. Probably over an hour even you have very very strong arms?
• Unlike egg whites, whole eggs are less prompt to over-beating -- I read from a website that 6 whole eggs would take 45 minutes to over-beat. Hence it is okay to beat a bit longer if we are not sure if the egg foam is thick enough. For stand mixer or any hand mixer with a really strong motor, high speed should be avoided for beating whole eggs. High speed beating results in bigger bubbles which affect the stability of egg foam.
• Since there is no baking powder nor soda used in this recipe,  the entire raising is done solely by egg foam. It is advised not to change the amount of sugar in an attempt to change the sweetness of cake. The egg foam may not be able to form if there is not enough sugar in the mixture.
• Traditionally Katsutera is baked in wooden boxes which is virtually impossible to get outside of Japan or Taiwan. Some bloggers made their own Katsutera tin with carton paper or even newspaper. I can't be bothered so I just used a silicone loaf pan. I think silicone pan is better than metal bakeware as silicone is less heat-conductive so probably the sides of the cake won't burn that easily.
• Possible improvement next time: (1) The cake should be left in fridge for longer, preferably overnight. (2) A baking paper should be placed on the top of the cake before wrapping it with foil to avoid sticking out the skin. (3) I usually don't use any lining for silicone pans but maybe I should line it next time so the cake can be taken out from tin more easily.

Sesame Oil Chicken with rice

Do you keep any "emergency meat" in the freezer? My favourite "emergency meat" is chicken, either wings or thighs. As you may or will notice, chicken is a very popular ingredient in my home, as a combined result of several factors:

1. I tend to cook a bit more so the leftovers can be frozen up for lunches on the following day or later. Beef or fish usually becomes too chewy but chicken just tastes as good after re-heat.
2. Hubby is not a big fan of pork. He eats it, sometimes, but only when it's exceptionally well cooked.
3. Chicken is cheaper and more affordable here in UK than pork and beef, especially those parts with bones such as wings or thighs.

I always try to keep a kilo or two of chicken in freezer. So when I am too busy to do grocery shopping or simply too lazy to do so (usually the latter case...), I can quickly de-froze some chicken, chuck it into a saucepan, or even better, a pressure cooker. It doesn't take much time nor effort -- probably just 20% of what I did for Coq au vin -- but it can make a easy peasey cozy homey dinner.

Recipe:

I read from about 6 or 7 recipes from Taiwanese blogs using traditional cooking method (slow cooking in a crock pot). Then I modified and tested to come up with this version using my pressure cooker.

My Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 1kg of chicken (about 12-13 wings)
• A bit of gingers, sliced
• 3 clovers of garlic, diced
• 2 tbsp of sesame oil
• 600g or 4 cups of rice, uncooked
• 4 cups of water
• 1tbsp of Shaoxing wine (紹興酒) (optional)
• salt and soy sauce sauce
• Shiitake mushrooms or dried Chinese mushrooms (optional)

My Method: 

1. Marinate chicken with Shaoxing wine and a pinch of salt for 3 hours, or at least half an hour.
2. Mix rice in water in a small bowl. Put aside.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a large frying pan and sauté garlic and ginger until brown. Stir in half of the chicken wings over a medium-high heat for 4 minutes.
4. Stir-fry another half of the chicken for 4 minutes.
5. Put all ingredients into the pressure cooker, water and rice first, followed by chicken wings.
6. Cover and lock the pressure cooker. Make sure the pressure setting has been set to "2" (which has a higher cooking temperature at 116C). Cook over high heat until the green mark which indicates the right pressure has been reached.
7. Turn to medium heat and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait until the cooker de-pressurizes itself naturally. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil when served.

One-line Verdict:

For a very lazy night.

Verdict:

• This is a modified version of Sesame oil chicken with rice (麻油雞飯) which is a popular homey dish in Taiwan. To me, it tastes, especially when mushrooms are added, very much like "steamed chicken rice with mushrooms (北菇蒸雞飯)" served in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.
• I don't know it has any scientific grounds, but sesame oil chickens are believed to have an ability to nourish the body and keep people warm in cold winter. New mothers in Asia (e.g. Taiwan & Malaysia) are advised to have sesame oil chicken in their diet during the confinement month after childbirth (坐月子). Maybe the high energy content of oil and chickens help speed up blood circulation?
• 600g of rice is actually quite a lot -- usually a small bowl of rice served at home is just about 100-150g.
• This dish is a little bit too oily though. For a healthier version, sometimes I use chicken breast and reduce sesame oil to 1 tbsp.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £3 (isn't it a real bargain? £3 for 4 servings!)

Hong Kong Style Borscht

Recipe:

My personal "Just wing it" recipes... (it's in fact my own version of HK-style Borscht adapted from about 8 different Borscht recipes)

My Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 1kg of beef brisket
• 1 small or half large cabbage
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 3 small onions
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 2 heaped tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• water, cooking oil, salt & white pepper

My Method: 

1. Wash and then chop vegetables into large chunks.
2. Parboil beef by placing it in pressure cooker and cover with cold water. Bring to boil over high heat. Continue to boil vigorously for 2 minutes to allow impurities to be released.
3. Dump water and rinse the beef with hot water in sink. Scrub the pressure cooker to remove any residue.
4. Add 1 tbsp of oil into the pressure cooker. Stir fry onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until browned. Add all other vegetables and the beef in.
5. Add 1.2 litre of water or until the water level reaches the Max1 (lower maximum) mark inside the pressure cooker. Add bay leaf and tomato paste.
6. Cover and lock the pressure cooker. Make sure the pressure setting has been set to "2" (which has a higher cooking temperature at 116C). Cook over high heat until the green mark which indicates the right pressure has been reached. (about 10 minutes).
7. Turn to medium heat and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait until the cooker de-pressurizes itself naturally (about 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper before serving.

One-line Verdict:

A super quick and easy way to make a tasty soup in less than 45 minutes.

Verdict:

• Hong Kong style Borscht (港式羅宋湯) is my hubby's favourite so I make it almost every week. I am not an avid fan of soup nor tomato but I think this soup tastes pretty good. It makes a very healthy and refreshing supper when we are carbohydrate-overloaded on that day.
• I use a Fissler Vitavit Comfort Pressure Cooker (6L/22cm). From washing ingredients to serving, it takes about 45 minutes while the actual "over the heat" time is only about 20 minutes. Without a pressure cooker, the soup shall take about 2 hours to make.
• Brisket, with stronger and meatier flavour, indeed tastes better than ordinary casserole beef. However I don't think the difference can justify an extra £4!
• For extra carbohydrates, 2 medium potatoes,1 medium parsnip or 1 small swede can be added but they would make the soup a bit muddy.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £9 (brisket) or £5 (casserole beef)

Lemon Berry Millefeuille

Adapted from:

"Blueberry and lemon millefeuille" from Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy. Also on BBC.

Original Ingredients: (Makes 6 triple-layer millefeuilles): 

• 115g/4oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 250g/9oz shop-bought puff pastry
• 200g/7oz (or 1 punnet) blueberries
• 165ml/5½fl oz whipping cream
• 25g/1oz icing sugar for sweetened cream
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds only (or alternatively 2 drops of vanilla extract)
• 1 lemon, finely grated zest and a squeeze of the juice

Original Method:

1. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper. Dust the work surface with lots of icing sugar and roll out the pastry to a rectangle just larger than 27 x 30cm/10½ x 12in, trimming the edges straight. It should be super thin, as thin as you can get it, without stretching the pastry.
2. Cut out 18 rectangles about 9cm/3½in long and 5cm/2in wide and place them on the prepared baking tray. Sprinkle with lots of icing sugar and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
4. Remove the pastry from the fridge and bake in the oven for five minutes, then remove from the oven and sprinkle the pastry with more icing sugar. Return to the oven and bake for a further five minutes, or until the pastry turns golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.
5. For the sweetened cream, put the cream, icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whip until medium-stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Fold in the lemon zest and juice, to taste, then scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm/½in straight nozzle.
6. Place one of the pastry thins on a serving plate. Pipe blobs of cream over the pastry and put the blueberries between the cream, then put another pastry thin on top and repeat with one more layer. Sprinkle the top layer with more icing sugar and repeat until all the pastry and cream is used up.

My Ingredients: (Makes 6 double-layer millefeuilles):

• about 40-60g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 250g shop-bought puff pastry
• about 70g blueberries
• about 50g raspberries
• 110g double cream
• 20g icing sugar for sweetened cream
• 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2/3 lemon, finely grated zest
• 2 squeezes of the juice

My Modifications:

• I only could roll out the pastry to a smaller rectangle of about 21cm x 28 cm. After trimming the edges, I cut out 12 rectangles each about 5cm x 9cm.
• In addition to blueberries, I also added raspberries to some millefeuilles.
• Extra lemon juice and zest were folded in the cream to reduce the sweetness. I also added zest on the top layers of each millefeuille after finishing with icing sugar.
• I did not exactly measure how much icing sugar used but it's significantly less than 115g suggested.

 

• As my pastry wasn't rolled thin nor even enough, some puff layers became quite thick after baking. Hence I only made 6 double-layer millefeuilles instead of 4 triple-layer millefeuilles.
• Double cream instead of whipping cream was used, simply because I have a tub of double cream expiring in two days. I reduced the amount of sweetened cream as I had fewer layers to cream.
• I used a sandwich bag (because I was too lazy and didn't want to use and wash my piping bags) for piping. I piped the whipped lemon cream as zig-zags over the pastry as the I could not pipe any nice blobs with a sandwich bag.
• The total baking time was about 16 minutes:

1. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle with icing sugar;
2. Turn the tray around by 180 degrees, bake for another 5 minutes.
3. Turn the tray around by 90 degrees, bake for another 3 minutes.
4. Turn the tray around by 90 degrees, bake for another 3 minutes.

One-line Verdict:

Using store-bought pastry doesn't mean easy peasey. Rolling it thin and cutting it even was NOT easy.

Verdict:

• This millefeuille recipe is easier than most other recipes. The pastry was cut before baking so the messy step of cutting baked puff neatly is skipped. Whipping cream is a lot easier to make (or it can be bought readily) than Crème Pâtissière used in many other recipes.
• Pre-cutting the puff pastry, however, seems to result in less tidy edges compared with the traditional ones that are cut after baking. If I make millefeuilles again, I will not cut the puff beforehand.
• I accidentally made an extra squeeze of the lemon so the cream was less sweet than I'd like, though my other two friends seem to be pretty satisfied with the reduced sweetness.
• Rolling the pastry thin and even were really challenging. And I didn't do it quick enough so the butter in the pastry started melting in the middle. I stopped and didn't roll further. Maybe I should just chuck the half-rolled pastry into fridge for 30 minutes.
• Substituting piping bag with sandwich bag is acceptable but it's very difficult to make any decent blobs of cream.
• Raspberries go really well with blueberries and lemon! I think those with two berries taste better than those with blueberries alone!
• Overall I am happy with this though there are many rooms for improvement. I will make this again, definitely!
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £3

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Adapted from, with heavy modifications:

"Chocolate Chunk Cookies" from The Great British Bake Off.

My Ingredients: (Makes 24)

• 150g flour
• 125g unsalted butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g dark brown muscovado sugar
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 100g walnut pieces
• 50g dark chocolate (86% cocoa)
• good pinch of salt
• Icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

My Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the walnut pieces on a baking tray and toast them for 6-8 minutes. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into smaller pieces. Use a knife if needed.
2. Put the soft butter into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg and the sugars and beat well.
3. Sift the flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking powder into the bowl and mix in with a wooden spoon.When thoroughly combined, work in the toasted walnuts and chocolate pieces.
4. Spread the dough onto a baking tray lined up with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes or until the brownie is lightly golden. Rotate the tray halfway through the baking time so the brownie cook evenly.
5. Remove from the oven and leave the brownie on the baking tray to cool and firm up for 5 minutes. Cut it up into 2cm x 8cm pieces into mini brownies. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

One-line Verdict:

It's a MISTAKE.

Verdict:

• It is important to toast walnuts or any other nuts before baking because nuts can never get hot enough to toast while baking due to the presence of other ingredients surrounding them. Toasting nuts beforehand can help reduce the bitterness of raw nuts and give them some extra crispiness.
• After the test bake, I found that the cookies were more fudgy that I'd like and tasted more like brownies. Hence I baked the remaining dough into brownies in a tray. This change of texture could be caused by the reduction in chocolate so the same amount of leavening agent gives the "cookies" more "raise" and result in a "cakey" texture resembling brownies.

• I replaced half of the chocolate (100g) specified in the original recipe by 30g of cocoa powder as I want to have less chocolate-y bakes. I also used 86% cocoa instead of 70%. I should have added extra butter to compensate the loss of chocolate. The substitution should be: 40g of chocolate can be replaced by 30g cocoa powder plus 14g of butter. It means I should have added 35gram more of cocoa powder plus 35g of butter.
• The cookies/brownies are not too sweet but drier than most brownies as a combined result of the reduction in chocolate and the use of higher cocoa %. But honestly I am quite happy with the sweetness. If I make this recipe again, I might add 35g of extra butter but I won't use the chocolate bar with 70% cocoa as suggested.
• Muscovado sugar should not be replaced by golden caster or any other brown sugar because it is significantly moister than other brown sugar.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £2

Fresh Fig Ice Cream

Original Recipe:

"Fresh Fig Ice Cream" from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.

Original Ingredients:

• 2lbs fresh black mission figs (about 20)
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste.

Original Method:

1. Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, non-reactive saucepan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan.
2. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes until the figs are tender. Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency.
3. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

My Ingredients:

• 450g of Turkey's bursa figs (about 8)
• 125ml of water
• 1/2 lemon
• 75g of sugar
• 120g of double cream
• lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
• 15ml of Crème de Cassis 

My Method: 

• I halved the recipe and translated it into metric measurements. The only exception is water. I did not reduce the amount of water into because it would not be enough to cook the raw figs.
• I added 15ml (approximately 1 tbsp) of Crème de Cassis after blending to avoid the ice cream from freezing too much.

One-line Verdict:

Looks rustic but tastes divine. Not the easiest ice cream to make though.

Verdict:

• This ice cream is egg-free, it means it's particularly easy to freeze into hard ice. Using an ice cream maker should help but I don't have one. I did churn the mixture a lot (every 30 minutes for the first 4 hours) but it just couldn't reach the creamy texture. I will make this or any other non-custard based ice cream again only if I get a decent ice cream maker.
• Thanks to the liqueur. I think it did help to prevent the ice cream from freezing too much. I was afraid the addition of Crème de Cassis (a blackcurrant liqueur from France) would interfere the flavour but luckily it didn't happen. If I make this ice cream again, I would use Rum, Brandy or Vodka as the higher alcohol concentration should be more efficient in preventing ice formation. Or I'd replace some granulated sugar with liquid glucose, which can provide some viscosity and prevent ice formation.
• Though it looks rustic, it tastes good. What can I say? It tastes DIVINE. No exaggeration. The sweetness is just right and the fig seeds give an interesting crunchy feeling. Did I mention the colour? No food colouring but the figs and double cream alone are enough to give the ice cream an absolutely gorgeous pink.
• I think a food processor can be used to blend the fig jam before mixing it with double cream and lemon juice to grate the fig skins and give it a smoother feeling.
• Figs are in season from autumn till early spring, so seize your chance before they're gone!
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £4 (about 500g, excluding the cost of liqueur)

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Original Recipe:

"Brussels Sprouts with Bacon" from Heston Blumenthal at Home.

Original Ingredients:

• 5 smoked bacon rashers, cut into lardons
• 50g unsalted butter
• 400g brussels sprouts

Original Method:

1. Slice the bases from the brussels sprouts and carefully separate the leaves, pulling them off the sprouts.
   
2. Fry the bacon in a frying pan over a medium heat until soft but not coloured. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.
   
3. Melt the butter with the bacon fat in the frying pan over a medium to low heat. When the butter is foaming, add the brussels leaves and stir to coat them. Add 2 tbsp water and cover the pan.
   
4. Allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stir in the bacon and season with salt and pepper.

My Ingredients:

• 200g smoked bacon lardons (Waitrose Essential)
• 25g unsalted butter (President)
• 200g brussels sprouts (loose veg from Waitrose)

My Method: 

• Basically followed the recipe except reducing the cooking time of brussels sprouts from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.

One-line Verdict:

This is an easy recipe which only takes about 30 minutes to yield a very satisfying result.

Verdict:

• Sprouts are not really a very popular vegetable because of the unpleasant boiled-cabbage bitterness. However this is mainly due to overcooking, especially the exterior. The key to this recipe is to separate the leaves of the sprouts instead of to cook them whole. Ideally every leaf can be evenly cooked and sweet.
• Separating the leaves was very laborious, it took me about 20 minutes to separate 10 sprouts. But it really worked and the resulting sprouts were sweet and delicious.
• As what I bought was called lardons, I didn't do any further cutting or dicing -- okay, I simply forgot. However the photo on Heston Blumenthal's book showed neatly diced cubic lardons. If I do this dish again, I'll try to remember to dice the lardons into smaller cubes.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £2.4 (serves 2)

(Additional information) How to choose brussels sprouts?

(from Wholefoods Market)

• Choose firm, small, compact sprouts with a good green color and stem ends that are clean and white.
• When possible, select sprouts of uniform size for uniform cooking. Avoid those with wilted or yellowed leaves or that feel spongy.
• Sooty smudges or small holes in the leaves may be an indication of worms or plant lice.
• Old Brussels sprouts acquire a strong cabbage odor.
• Brussels sprouts are most abundant in autumn through early spring.