Char Siew Pork Ribs

The Char Siew posting in this blog is one of the most sort after and from the comments, i know that everyone who have tried making Char Siew with this recipe liked it alot.  My family always give me the thumb up when Char Siew Pork or Char Siew Pork Ribs are served.  Make sure you have a huge pile of napkins ready cos these Char Siew Pork Ribs are so finger-licking good . Basically, the marinate is the same, the only difference is the choice of meat, one is just shoulder/belly pork while this are Ribs be it Spare or Baby Back..

Flaky Egg Tarts

If you are a Dim Sum lover, you will recognise these delectable tarts and if you frequent the Dim Sum restaurants, you will know that these tarts disappear fast.  If you do not ask the waitress to reserve some when they are out of the oven, you will not have any.  You must be wondering why, after so many years of baking, it is only now that i am posting these egg tarts.  I have to admit that these tarts are one of the most difficult of all the bakings i have baked.  It was quite challenging and the family had been eating the not so pretty products, they tasted good but just not presentable.  One would think that the recipe was at fault but no, it was me, not that proficient - first the pastry had to be mastered - good rolling skills and patience needed.  The best part of these tarts was the flaky pastry, it has to be flaky of course, although the custard had to br right too.  This marriage will be in a very rough situation and not very forgiving if not worked properly.  To make this marriage work, the thickness of the pastry had to be right, too thick - there will not be enough room for the custard, too thin - the flakiness in the pastry will not be effective. Docking the pastry was my greatest regret.  i must have poked too hard and the custard seeped through, making the tart impossible to remove from the mold.  Then the baking - know your oven - a hot oven to me worked best and baked these tarts at the last third of the rung in your oven, this will ensure that the pastry will get browned and the custard being further away from the top elements will not get cooked before the pastry.  Lower the heat after 15 minus to finish cooking the custard to perfection and this did not mean that the whole tray of tarts will be ready at the same time, uneven hot spots in the oven are to be blamed and this is a common fact.  You would have to remove the tarts accordingly and leave the uncooked ones to finish baking.  Accordingly means that the tarts with firm custard around the rim and will jiggle slightly in the middle,  are to be taken out of the oven.  When or if the custard in some of the tarts should puff. open the oven door to lower the oven temperature.  These tarts have to be baby-sat for the last part of the baking and they can be moved around for even baking - do not move them if the custard is not firm around the edges, otherwise another regret, the uncooked custard will spill over causing ????????.


Do not let this lengthy jabber hinder you from trying to bake some, just heed my advise and you will produce the most delicious tarts ever.

Step by Step: How to prepare Fried Shallots

Shallots are called bawang merah kecil (small red onions) in Malay. Do not confuse shallots with green onions or scallions. Shallots tend to be more expensive than onions but their sweeter, milder, more complex flavor are worth it,  no wonder they are much favored by chefs. I am quite lucky that shallots are not that expensive and affordable unlike Down Under, i was told that they are cost double digits $$. 

I can't do without shallots, there will be no sambal, curries, kerabu(salad) etc.  One most desired condiment in Asian Cuisine is sliced deep-fried shallots, although they are readily available deep-fried but they are not the same as when they are deep-fried from scratch at home.  It might seem tedious and finicky when deep frying to obtain perfect fried shallots but with a little patience and attention, it can be done.  When frying, do not answer the phone or doorbell, a blink of the eye, it will be burned.  Constant stirring of the sliced shallots will ensure the shallots will be evening fried to perfection and the most crucial is - remove the shallots from the oil when they are golden.  Residual heat will continue to further fry the shallots to golden brown.

Fleischmann's 1 Dish Cinnamon Swirl

When i saw this recipe in a magazine, i knew it would come in handy one day.  The one day came when i had guests and i had no plans for breakfast, there were no sausages nor bread and i had only 1 egg but i had this recipe.  The wonderful part in this recipe was, - Prep Time = 20 minutes, Bake for 25 - 30 minutes and breakfast is ready.  You would not imagine that you could make a simple, delicious yeasted 1 dish cinnamon swirl bread where there was no need for rising.  The rising and baking happened as soon as prep time was over, when the dish was put into the oven and in a COLD oven, yes, cold oven where no preheating as required. 

Whitebait Omelette

What is Whitebait?  Read about it in Wiki.  I have always known it to be called "Ngan Yee Chai" translated literally from cantonese will be "Silver Fish".  and when i googled for more info, i was horrified that the 'paramites' that we find in our old forgotten books are also called 'Silver Fish' - i have totally forgotten about these, perhaps at this age of computers, who goes to look for any info amongst the old books?   These Whitebaits are soft and tasty when fried or steamed with eggs but they can be scary, talking about westerners being afraid of fish eyes when served a whole cooked fish.  In this platter, there were hundreds and more, but they were so tiny, they were like specks and i told a lie by saying that they were cracked black pepper.  I got away with this lie and the dish was received with no complains, they licked the platter clean.

Madeleines - Chef Daniel Boulud

This has been my 6th times that i have been on this page.  Have been trying to post this but has always been interrupted by calls or whatever??  I hope i made it this time in posting this recipe. This following recipe was originally published in the cookbook “Chef Daniel Boulud – Cooking in New York City.”   I knew this recipe would produce good Madeleines, as i have good faith in Chef Daniel Boulud to publish a reliable recipe.  He did and this recipe is easy and a keeper.  I have changed the method and instead of dusting with confectioner's sugar as suggested, i hae coated one end with melted chocolate to enhance the appearance as well as improving the flavor.