Year of the Sheep

Happy Chinese New Year!!! 新年快乐 🐑

This lunar year is in honor of the Ram (or sheep, or goat, depending upon your preferred English translation). Arriving with the monkey and rooster at the Jade Emperor's palace,  he was given the eighth position of the Chinese zodiac.

Those born under this sign are said to be peace loving,  trusting,  kind and popular folk. Yet their very nature also makes them clingy and resistant to change. Perhaps this is where the phrase "stubborn as a goat" comes from. Again, another description,  "flock of sheep" comes to mind; this one far from complimentary, preying upon the characteristics which make sheep people easy targets - their kind and trusting nature. For woolen locks may hide a wolf among men.

The lunar new year is a time of celebration, of plenty, the welcoming of new beginnings,  shedding the old and starting anew. It is a time to eat, to rest and be merry. In many ways, more meaningful than the first day of the calendar year, where most individuals are sleeping in, recovering from hangovers and dreading the return to work.

And for fiber artists the world round, sheep are one of the mainstays of our creations, merino, BFL, the breeds could go on. Sheep may be seen as peace loving but what is created from their offerings seems to me the true representation of kindness, and belief in the human race.

Hats for the homeless, blankets for babies, scarves for soldiers. With every stitch we create, we bind the world together. Knitting hearts, crocheting chains and weaving together the words we cannot say with our mouths but feel with our heart.

May this year bring happiness and prosperity,  fulfilling all your dreams. 喜气羊羊!

A New Year, A New Place

Another Chinese New Year has passed and again, I wasn't at home to celebrate. But I did spend the weekend with two people I really love - ate, cooked, went gallivanting around Camden Town and even watched a musical in the West End.

The UK really is dreary and wet - at least according to the weather.com app on my phone. :) So what else is there to do the week after Chinese New Year and the night before Valentine's Day? Bake a couple of cakes. Seriously, is there anything else I would do?

As a little consolation for not having posted since I left the island and was at home studying my brains out, here are two absolutely completely simple one bowl cake recipes you can whip up on any school night, after work, or in the middle of the night when you have insomnia and don't know what else to do. And the best part? I've made both of these with no measuring whatsoever. And they still turned out amazing. For the measuring inclined, I've included cups and such. ;)

Fresh out of the oven

Chocolate Loaf Cake
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (Green & Blacks)
3/4 cup sugar (I used granulated)
1 cup sour cream (leftover from burrito night - perfect use without waste)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, a few spoonfuls of nutella, anything chocolate that floats your boat

The initial cut

For the chocolate cake, preheat the oven to 350 F (176 C).

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, use a fork to sift together. Add all the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Don't overmix. (Yes, it's seriously that easy.)

Line a 9x5 loaf pan. Here's where things can be changed up. The first loaf I made was with chocolate chips so I stirred those into the batter and then poured into the pan. The second loaf had a swirl of Nutella running through it so I poured half the batter into the pan, then dolloped Nutella along the surface and filled the pan with the rest of the batter.

Bake for 60-70 minutes depending on your oven. 

If you have a rubbish oven because you're in hospital accommodations then bake for an extra 20 minutes and place a sheet of foil over the top of the cake to prevent burning. Yes. I know. Ridiculous but true. Still turned out yummy though. :)

Ravaged by two boys, a grown man and two women

And the second recipe of the day. A cinnamon swirl cake that looks quite lovely as an 8 inch round coffee cake as well.

Cinnamon Swirl Loaf Cake
 













2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp salt

Cinnamon sugar almond topping

Cinnamon swirl
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix until combined. (I added a dash of cinnamon into the batter because I could).

Line a 9x5 loaf pan and pour in half the batter. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, sift half evenly over the batter. Pour the remaining batter into the pan and top with the remaining sugar mixture. Bake in a 350 F oven for 45-50 minutes. (As always, account for rubbish ovens by checking often.)

If you want to make this in an 8 inch round pan, my variation was to add chopped almonds into the batter and into the cinnamon sugar topping. Instead of layering like the loaf, I poured all the batter into the pan and topped with the sugar mixture, swirling slightly before baking for approx. the same amount of time.

Home is Where the Heart is

Whenever I begin to miss my parents and brother even the slightest bit, I always have a craving for chinese food. Doesn't matter if I don't usually eat it. Doesn't matter if I don't even like it. I WILL find the means to make it. And so, here is today's recipe from home.

After a few months, I found rice flour (asian brand at that - just plain white rice flour - not brown, not glutinous). A little while later, I got my hands on some tapioca starch. I know, I know. Sad but true, it took about 3 and a half months before this recipe finally came to be. But you know what. It was worth it. I already had lap cheong scurried away in my freezer and dried shrimp in the fridge, a canister of shiitakes from home, already with their stems taken off. But daikon radish. Another elusive item I had seen only at one store on the island.

If you're on St. Maarten, between the Grande Marche in Cole Bay and Maho Market, you can get most of the essentials for this staple of dim sum. Sadly, anything remotely ethnic will require a shopping trip at home or a special care package from those who love you the most.

Rice flour/daikon radish/green onions - Grande Marche - Cole Bay (they often have a lot of gluten free flours and mixes)
Tapioca starch - Maho market
Dried shiitakes - Afoo supermarket in Philipsburg (they might even have dried shrimp/lap cheong - unlikely but worth a shot)
Lor Bak Go 蘿蔔糕
2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3 cups shredded daikon radish
2 links lap cheong 臘腸 minced
1 green onion, minced
4-5 dried shiitakes, soaked and minced
handful of dried shrimp, minced
3 cups of reserved cooking liquid/water
salt to taste

In a large bowl, combine the rice flour and tapioca starch. Add about 3 cups of liquid to the shredded daikon and boil in a pot until cooked. Drain the daikon and reserved the liquid. In a small bowl, soak the shiitakes. Mince the lap cheong and dried shrimp. When rehydrated, mince the shiitakes and green onion.Add the cooked daikon to the flour mixture with the green onion, add the 3 cups of liquid slowly and mix until no clumps remain. In a pan, do not add oil, cook the lap cheong, dried shrimp and shiitakes until softened/cooked. Add to the flour/radish mixture and combine. The batter will be neither thick nor thin.
Using a steamer safe dish, pyrex, aluminum whatever you have on hand, oil the dish lightly and pour in the batter. I used two dishes, one about 12 inches in diameter and the other about 7 inches with sloping sides. The depth of the batter will determine your cooking time. I steamed the smaller pan for about 30 mins and the larger for 40 minutes. You will be able to tell when the lor bak go is cooked. The mixture will go from liquid to solid to opaque/white to opaque but slightly clear and a toothpick in the center will come out clean. Don't forget to check the water level on the steamer and add more boiling water as needed.

When steamed, take out and let cool. Slice into 2-3 inch pieces and fry in a little oil if desired. Fresh out of the steamer, it tastes better as if without frying.

新年快樂! Happy Chinese New Year

So I know I've been neglecting the blog for quite some time, but it was becoming the end of the year, end of the semester and things were crazy. My camera decided that it just wouldn't work anymore, although that shouldn't have stopped me from posting up recipes and cooking. I spent hours at school and minutes and home. My bill clearly reflected all of that time spent in my dungeon in the sky. But it's a new semester and new year. So to start things off, here's a little something I whipped up despite a lack of veggies and other foodstuffs.

And not to neglect those at home...

新年快樂! For all the students, 學習進步 and for all those working, 生意興隆! To everyone with blocks today, 金榜題名.

Pan-fried Buns with Turkey and Green Onions
Original recipe is Pan-fried Buns with Chives and Minced Pork (more traditional but you have to make do on the island)

Dough
1 1/4 cups of AP flour
6 tbls hot water
3 tbls cold water (or however much it takes to moisten the dough)

Filling
4 oz ground turkey (you can use pork, chicken, beef, a combination if you like - pork is more traditional)
1 green onion
1/2 inch peeled ginger
2 garlic cloves
salt/pepper
dash of sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce
2 leaves of cabbage (use any vegetable you like, this was the only thing I could find that was green and would go with the filling) - approx. 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped

Onto the fun part.....

To make the dough, place the flour in a bowl. Make a small well in the center and add the hot water. Mix until small crumbs begin to form and the flour begins to moisten. Add 1 tbl of cold water at a time until all of the dough comes together and it's no longer sticky. I added about 3-4 tbls of water. Oil a bowl lightly and place the dough in the bowl to sit for approx. 30 min. This will let the dough rest before you roll again.

To make the filling, place the ground turkey in a bowl. Add cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Mix well. Mince the green onion, garlic and ginger very finely (Use a garlic press for the garlic/ginger if you so desire). Don't worry if there are a few pieces that are slightly larger. Chop the cabbage into small pieces, the smaller the better (think the size of a mini M&M) If you have chinese chives, use it. It lends a distinctive taste to the buns. If you don't like cabbage, use any vegetable you like, bok choy is a great substitute. Add all the veggies into the meat and mix well, incorporating everything.

To form the buns, divide the dough into 10 pieces. Taking each piece, flatten it into a circle about 4 inches in diameter. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling into the center and pinch the sides together. If there's excess dough, you can trim it off. I placed it between my hands after forming the bun and rolled it a few times to get it more even before patting it slightly. Continue until you've formed all of the buns.

In a non-stick skillet/pan, heat 2 tsp of oil on medium heat. Place the buns in the pan and fry on both sides until they're nicely golden. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water, place a lid on the pan and cook until the water has evaporated.
For a quick sauce, you can combine some vinegar, garlic chili sauce and sesame oil to taste.

Breasts and Buns

Female reproduction, breast pathology, and the memory of a comment about bunless burgers begins this post about a bakery style Chinese bun reminiscent of childhood, San Francisco Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon and a classic addition to American life along with the previously mentioned burgers.

As the smell of yeast permeates the apartment, I think of how much I don't really like hot dogs or Chinese buns for that matter. But for some reason, the soft bready dough of Chinese style bakeries just calls my name at the strangest moments.Bakery Style Chinese Hot Dog Buns 腸仔包

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbs granulated sugar
1/2 - 2/3 cup warm milk
1 tsp salt
2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
Sesame seeds
8 hot dogs (I used beef)

In a small bowl, combine yeast, milk and sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to proof the yeast. In another bowl, combine flour and salt. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients with one egg. Mix to combine. When the dough begins to come together, turn out onto a flat surface and knead. If the dough seems a little dry, add a little water. If the dough is too wet, add 1 tbs of flour at at time. Add the 2 tbs of softened butter cut into small pieces. Knead into the dough until incorporated and the dough is soft and shiny.

Oil a bowl and place the dough in a warm place to rise for ~90 minutes or until doubled in size. Cut into 8 pieces of equal size. Taking each piece, make into an 8-10 inch long log with the middle thicker than the ends. Wrap around the hot dog, leaving very little space between the dough so that when the 2nd rise occurs, the dough meets to close up the space and not show the hot dog.*See that gap in the dough on the top bun? Try and avoid that. ;)

Continue until all 8 hot dogs have been wrapped in dough. Let rise for another ~90 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. As the oven is heating up, beat the second egg and brush on the tops and sides of each bun. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. When the oven is hot, bake for 8 minutes at the preheat temperature. Turn the temperature down to 350 and bake for another 5-8 minutes.Makes 8 buns.

Chong Yao Beng 葱油饼 (Chinese Green Onion Pancakes)

Every so often, I feel homesick and start craving everything I don't usually eat. Even bao (chinese buns) of all types begin to sound appealing. There's something about making my own chinese food from scratch with a deficiency of proper ingredients that makes the process more worthwhile and the final product yummier than anything store-bought.

Since so many people have asked, this is as good a time as any to post up the recipe. Keep in mind, it's more of a guideline as opposed to a true recipe since amounts of water and flour are more of a ratio as opposed to an amount.
Chong Yao Beng
(approx - 2:1 ratio of flour to hot water)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup hot water
A dash of salt
1 cup of chopped green onions/scallions
Sesame oil

Place flour and salt in a bowl. Heat water until a low simmer is achieved. Pour 1 cup into the flour mixture and mix with a spoon. The water helps the dough begin to form gluten before you even start mixing/kneading. When the dough begins to form, you can abandon the spoon and use your hands. Add more flour or water depending on the wetness/dryness of the dough. You want it to hold together without being overly sticky. This is a very forgiving recipe.

Tear off a small ball and roll out into 4-5 inch circle. Rub with a little sesame oil and scatter green onions on top of the circle. Roll up, pressing lightly to make a tight tube. Starting at one end, curl up the tube into a snail shape.Taking the palm of your hand, flatten the coil into about 3/4 cm thickness. Some of the onions may poke through the dough as it gets thinner. Don't worry about this too much. The thicker the pancake, the longer it'll take to pan fry and the chewier the texture.

When all of the pancakes are formed, heat a nonstick skillet with about a tablespoon of oil. If you want a nicer color, use sesame oil. Vegetable oil will give less color but is healthier. Panfry until cooked through, flipping the pancake after about 3-4 minutes. The dough will begin to look clear before turning opaque as it cooks. Continue until all of the pancakes have been cooked. You can also form the pancakes and fry them as you go.

If you want to make a dipping sauce, I combined a bit of chili-garlic sauce, sesame oil, fried scallions leftover from the pancakes, soy sauce, pepper to taste.