Sticky rice flour Yorkshire pudding

Sticky rice flour Yorkshire pudding

With the success of making Yorkshire pudding, and being so easy to make and such a pleasant texture, I am motivated to play with the formula. A simple change to sticky rice flour gives an even better texture, more light and crispy, due to lack of gluten. Also added a bit of sugar to make it into a snack.

Sticky rice flour Yorkshire pudding before baking

2 eggs

100gm milk

50gm sticky rice flour

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

a pinch of salt

Sticky rice flour Yorkshire pudding

Same procedure as in making Yorkshire pudding.

Ko Lau Wan restaurant 高流灣石記

Ham Tin bay, Tai Wan bay

A bit far to go, but perfect after hiking the Big Wave Bay trail to Chek Keng, to take a speed boat there, to enjoy well prepared traditional local food. 

blanched prawn

steamed cuttlefish balls

steamed snapper

long cooked taro pork belly in red yeast rice sauce

Yorkshire pudding

A traditional side dish in English cuisine, usually served with stew meat, surprisingly I have never tasted it in all the visits in UK. Finally saw it on an English friend's Xmas dinner photo, looking very cute, and out of curiosity asked for the recipe. 

Yorkshire pudding with beef stew

It is actually very easy to make, and surprisingly pleasing to eat, part crispy part chewy. Reminded me instantly of French choux pastry or Chinese fried dough, both are much more troublesome to make than Yorkshire pudding.

Yorkshire pudding before baking

2 eggs

100 gm milk

75 gm flour

1/2 tsp salt

Yorkshire pudding

1. Whisk eggs, add the remaining ingredients, whisk to mix well, rest in fridge for at least 1/2 day before using.

2. In a muffin tin, add a tsp lard/goose fat/coconut oil/olive oil, heat at 220˚C for 2 minutes.

3. Pour batter to 1/3 height of the tin, return to hot oven and bake for 20 minutes, do not open the door during cooking.

Christmas eve dinner

Christmas eve dinner

Made a meal to share with friends over Christmas eve, mostly traditional dishes with a twist.

Finger food

cheese crisp

- cheese crisps, cut cheddar cheese thinly, bake at 180˚C for 10 minutes.

prawn cocktail

- shrimp cocktail, blanch small shrimps, make a yogurt sauce seasoned with lemon juice, honey, salt, chili and smoked Pimenton.

Starter

s

scallop and mushroom ravioli with coconut cream sauce

- scallop and mushroom ravioli, in coconut cream sauce seasoned with salt, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves.

Main

roast duck, potato and brussel sprout

-Roast duck stuffed with sticky rice with Chinese sausage and dried mushroom.  

-Baked potato in onion coconut cream sauce

-Brussel's sprout with bacon

Dessert

Irish Xmas pudding

-Irish gin Xmas pudding, first time to buy Irish made Xmas pudding, the outside is covered with slices of glazed fruit, very delicious.

Winter solstice family dinner

 

This is an important day for the family to gather together to celebrate the arrival of winter. All gathering means eating, and this year I decided to serve a seafood dinner, because after the summer season of no fishing allowed, the fish market has surprisingly lots of local seafood.

pickle round ball mustard and apple

1. Round ball mustard with apple in aged fermented tofu sauce

- Cut mustard into strips, season with salt and rest for an hour for liquid to come out and veg soften. Season with a sauce made with aged fermented tofu, sesame oil and brown sugar. 

squid noodle

2. Squid noodle

-Make a broth with spring onion, ginger and coriander stem, season with salt. Cut squid into very tin strips, blanch in the broth until just cooked, a few seconds. Serve with a little broth and fresh coriander leaves.

ravioli with scallop

4. Ravioli with scallop, mushroom, red onion and kaffir lime

baked prawn

5. Baked prawn, half plain and half with grated parmesan and spring onion

prawn

-Split prawn into halves, remove gut, brush with olive oil, sprinkle a little salt on half, and parmesan/spring onion on the other half. Bake at 200˚C for 10 minutes.

 baked flower crab

6. Baked flower crab

-Open and clean crab, cut into sections, bake at 200˚C for 15 minutes.

baked Ma Yau fish

7. Baked Ma Yau fish with ginger, spring onion and lemon grass

-Cut fish into sections, season with salt for a few hours. Grate ginger, mix with finely cut spring onion and lemon grass, season with salt and olive oil. 

baked Ma Yau fish

Place a little ginger mixture on each piece of fish, wrap in baking paper, bake at 200˚C for 13 minutes, rest for another 5 minutes.

The Chairman restaurant 大班樓

 

I have eaten in this restaurant a few times this month, want to try dishes on the menu that sounds interesting to me (creative use of ingredients). Being one of the top 50 restaurants in Asia, I have high expectations.

The dishes below are my favorites, based on good combination of flavors and the work involved.

Baby Squid in Cold Soya Marinate and Szechuan Pepper

Razor Clams Steamed with Aged Lemon and Mixed Herbs

Crispy Fermented Tofu with Szechuan Chilli

Steamed Fresh Flowery Crab with Aged ShaoXing Wine,
Fragrant Chicken Oil & Flat Rice Noodles

Pan Fried Crispy Chicken Stuffed with Shrimp Meat

Cooking degree of the dishes is just right, the flavor rich yet not overpowering.

I tried other beef and lamb dishes too, unfortunately found them too fried or dry.

Scallop and mushroom ravioli

Scallop and mushroom ravioli

It is easy to buy frozen scallops from Canada or Japan, unlike fresh from the shell ones that I like them minimally cooked, these frozen ones are usually served seared. 

I have been trying to find a different way to present them, combined with other ingredients that enhance the flavor of scallop. Hence the previous pork and scallop meatballs. Feeling that pork is overpowering, I turned to use mushroom duxelle, with red onion and lemon grass or kaffir lime for a milder flavoring ingredient.

This combination worked, with scallop remain as the star ingredient. First attempt of wrapping in filo pastry failed as it takes a lot of oil to make the pastry crispy.

Second trial of making ravioli is a good success, very pleasing for the eyes and nice flavors. 

mushroom duxelle

1. Cut brown button mushroom and red onion into small pieces, slow cook in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, until dry.

2. Make pasta dough, roll out using a pasta hand machine very thin sheets, cut out circles, with the top piece 1cm bigger than the bottom one. 

Scallop and mushroom ravioli, before cooking

3. Place a scallop in the center, a spoon of mushroom mixture on top and around, wet the rim and cover with the top piece.

4. Simmer in salted water for 4 minutes. 

Pork scallop meatball

Pork scallop meatball

The taste of pork meatball is greatly enhanced with the addition of scallop, more flavorful and less dense dry texture.

mince pork, red onion & kaffir lime leave

1. Roughly mince pork, season with salt and white pepper.

2. Cut red onion and kaffir lime leave into tiny pieces, fresh scallop into 1/2cm cubes, mix with minced pork. 

Pork scallop meatball before cooking

3. Form a flat disc and sear at medium heat until cooked.

Mustard stem pickle

Mustard stem pickle

Ordered a weekly box of locally grown organic vegetables, this guarantees eating seasonal produce, like this mustard plant with a thick stem.

Mustard 

1. Cut the stem into slices, season with salt to soften, around 15 minutes.

2. Warm olive oil to around 120˚C, add a handful of Sichuan pepper, stir around until fragrant. When cool, mix with mustard.

Mala peanut

Mala peanut

Found a good supply of really fragrant and 'Ma" Sichuan pepper, hence immediately start on using a lot in cooking. This is a wonderful snack with beer or white wine, hard to stop once started.

150gm roasted salty peanut

75gm white sugar

15gm miso paste diluted with 10gm water

Sichuan pepper powder

chili powder

sugar syrup

1. Cook sugar with half a cup of water until slightly golden, remove from heat.

2. Add diluted miso paste into syrup, Sichuan and chili powder, mix well. 

Mala peanut, sauce still wet

3. Add peanut and coat very well with sauce, stir around to cool down, until dry powder form on peanuts (sugar recrystalised).

Mala peanut, sauce dried

Daikon soup

Daikon soup

Daikon is sweet in cold weather and so winter is the best time to have them. Got some homegrown ones from friend and turned into a delicious simple soup, so tasty.

1. Stir fry dry shrimps in a little oil until fragrant, add water and daikon cut into cubes. Season with salt and white pepper, simmer until daikon soft, around 15 minutes.

2. Pour into a bowl with some fresh coriander leaves, ready to serve.

Black tail Trevally steak

Black tail Trevally steak

Used a simple way to prepare the fish, to enjoy the flavor of it with a bit more moisture.

Black tail Trevally steak before baking

1. Cut onion and ginger into fine strips, season with salt, pepper and olive oil, mix well and rest for 10 minutes until soften.

2. Place mixture on baking paper, the steak of fish on top, wrap up and bake at 200˚C for 20 minutes, rest with the oven door ajar for another 5.

Black tailed trevally

Black tailed trevally

I like to visit fish market in Hong Kong, especially those stalls that sell locally caught seafood. There are a lot of varieties and I am learning new species all the time. Today I saw this fish, above average price, a good size one, the fishmonger describes it as meaty and tasty, and offer a local name for it. It takes a bit of work to ask knowledgeable friends and check on the internet to confirm the proper English name. 

Black tailed trevally

I cut it up into 4 parts, mildly seasoned with salt, which always help to firm up the meat and plan to enjoy them in 4 meals.

Started with the fish head as dinner.

cooked Black tailed trevally

1. Cut ginger and onion into thin strips, spring onion into segments, sweat gently until golden.

2. Add fish head in the middle of the pan, sear both sides light golden, add rice wine, season with soy sauce and brown sugar, add a cup of water and simmer with the lid on, 3 minutes each sides and rest for another 3 minutes.

The flesh is half way between sea bream and tuna, firmer than bream and more moist than tuna.

Smoky parsnip chips

parsnips

The last harvest from the garden, dug out all the parsnips before covering the soil to rest over winter.

Parsnip keeps well in the soil, they will progressively become more starchy and develop a central tough fibrous core. This make preparing them a bit more work as it is necessary to cut away the center. 

Parsnip chips before baking

I simply bake them like fat chips, season with smoky paprika for flavor and presentation. 

smoky parsnip chips

Cut parsnip into pieces, shake with some olive oil and smoky paprika to coat, bake at 180˚C until soft and slightly golden on the edges, around 30 minutes.