Milo Agar Agar

I slept really badly last night.  Somewhere in the neighbourhood, a dog was barking way into the night.  I guess hubby by now is used to such barks but for me, I am still coping with it. 

Then I was hit with cramps again.  It must be the bad sitting posture I had yesterday while researching on the internet.

Anyway, this morning, we were blessed with awesome weather.  A great morning for my boy to do his cross country event in school.  Yes, he was among the top 10th and gotten a medal!

For me, I volunteered my service, selling ice popsicle!  Nice to be connected once again with these group of mommies and daddies.  These days, it is a common sight to see daddies being involved in such events.  Awesome isn't it?  Some days, I wished my hubby can find time to do so too but unfortunately this is not the case.

I came home slumped, totally drained.  Trying to nap but since it is not my habit, I couldn't.

With such fine cooling weather, I decided to make some Milo Agar Agar for my girl.  She loves Milo!  Always craving for Milo Dinosaur that she will prepare herself.

It sure been a while since I last done jelly.  This recipe was tried out way back in 2005.    I seriously had no idea whether it came from me or taken from somewhere.  If so, I am sorry that I didn't credit you back then and till now I still don't know who is the original.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #24 (October 2012): Jellies and Puddings hosted by Charmaine of MiMi Bakery House

What you need:

Chocolate Layer

8g agar agar powder 
1¾ cups water 
75g sugar 
¾ cup Milo powder 

Milk Layer 

11g agar agar powder 
1½ cup water 
75g sugar 
1 can Full Cream Evaporated Milk 
2 tbsp cream 

Method 

Chocolate Layer

Mix agar agar powder, sugar and milo. 

Add in water and bring to a boil, stirring till sugar melted and agar agar powder dissolved.  Strain. 

Pour mixture into jelly mould (rinsed with water). 

Allow to set, then lightly scratch surface with fork. 

Milk Layer

Mix agar agar powder and sugar.

Add water and bring to a boil, stirring till sugar melted and agar agar powder dissolved. 

Stir in evaporated milk and cream. Strain. 

Pour gently over chocolate layer. 

Chill till set.

Gula Melaka Coconut Jelly

Today starts a one week school break.

Time really flies, there goes term 1. My girl didn't have her CA 1 term test, some how that didn't erase my concern. Actually I wish she has it so that I can gauge her learning ability. Really dread the mid year exam as I do not know how much she has absorbed to help her to fill up the void.

Last Saturday, I was helping out with a family programme for the school (organised by SFE (Singapore Family Education) and was surprised to see kids still coming back to the school. There were ballet exam, kids preparing for Indian dance competition next month and a Chinese composition competition. My son too needed to be in soccer training for two days this week. Now tell me what life kids have these days?

Anyway, I have a list of baking and cooking lined up for my kids since they will be taking three meals at home.

To entice my son, I also have Vanilla Macaroons with lemon curd. Not again, lemon curd! Somehow, I find the lemon curd really offset that sweetness of this chewy cookies.



Perhaps I should have been more adventurous. Let's see whether I still have time to come up with more macarooning fun.

I'm also submitting this post to this month Aspiring Bakers #17: March Macarons Madness! (Mar 2012) hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies.

Adapted from The Sweet Spot

Macaroons with lemon curd buttercream

What you need:
Almond mixture
200g (100g) almond meal
200g (100g) icing sugar
74g (37g) egg white (from 2 (1) Grade A egg)
Small pinch of salt

Meringue
74g (37g) egg white (from 2 (1) Grade A egg)
200g (100g) sugar
50g (25g) water

Method

Pulse almond meal with icing sugar in blender/mill and sift once.

Mix almond mixture with 37gm egg white and salt. Set aside.

Cook sugar and water until it reaches 118 ºC.

When the syrup reaches 105 ºC , beat egg white until medium peaks.

When syrup reaches 118 ºC , pour it into egg whites with beaters running on low speed.

Beat meringue until stiff and glossy (mine was all slacky, but glossy)

Stir 1/3 of meringue into almond mixture.

Pour almond mixture into meringue and fold (not stir) until batter is able to fall without trace after a count to 10.

Place batter into a piping bag with a plain 1cm nozzle. Pipe dollops of batter onto a lined baking

Preheat oven to 150 ºC (fan off).

************

Next for dessert, I had prepared Gula Melaka Coconut Jelly.

With the abundant of fresh coconut going on sales at a steal of 3 for S$2.90, I just couldn't resist. The inspiration came after hubby tried out a drink during one of his business lunch. I tried to replicate it and it was close, according to hubby.

Decided to turn it into jelly instead so that my kids won't know it is coconut juice. Somehow, they are not a big fan of this juice. Don’t ask me why.

By adding gula melaka, I was afraid it might be way too sweet. Surprisingly, the drink turned out to be perfect. So for this jello, I didn't add in any sugar except gula melaka.

Personally, really love this combination, it brings the flavour to greater heights.

A keeper.

What you need:

950ml fresh coconut juice (I used 900ml for firmer texture)
30g gula melaka, chopped finely
1 packet of Konnyaku powder
coconut meat

Method:

Crack open the fresh coconut and remove juice. Set aside.

Using a metal spoon, scrap coconut meat out. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine half the coconut juice with the gula melaka. Stir till gula melted.

Combine coconut juice and konnyaku powder, stir to break down the konnyaku powder.

Combine both coconut juices together and bring to boil.

Using a tablespoon, pour some jelly into the jelly mould.

Add in the coconut meat and pour jelly over it.

Cool and chill.

Serve cold.

Experiments - giving up

Since a few months back, I was crazy experimenting the beancurd pudding secret formula. I wanted to break the code. After nearly 20 combinations without a good outcome, I decided to give my family and myself a break. It has reached a point that we were tired of eating beancurd pudding.

You see, I wanted to do away with Vitasoy that claimed to give a closest comparison with those famous ones. Personally I am not a big fan of Vitasoy as I feel that there is an after taste. I don't consider that a soya milk.

Also I have done tests to see whether gelatine (which is common item in my household vs the instant jelly powder) works and it did.

To be honest, my first attempt was very close by using gelatine. The aroma of the milk boiling was very close as well. I think decreasing the amount will be perfect but I wanted to experiment more. I wanted to try using instant powder as it was known as the key ingredient, the result was not so favourable but I was determined till we got sick of it.

Recently someone from a Facebook group started a heat wave and that got me interested once again. Anyway, I succumbed and decided to buy a packet to taste the difference.

The verdict was still not so favourable despite being close though it did set nicely. Somehow the texture is not what I am looking for and as well as the taste. Both hubby and helper said it didn't pass the test.

For big fan of the beancurd pudding, I think for the time being, this is okay to whet your appetite and you don't have to pay a ridiculous S$1.50 for a small tub.

Source: Miss Tam Chiak

What you need:
Serving: 3 small bowls

350g Vitasoy
15g creamer
7g instant jelly
(I omitted the sugar as I feel that the milk is already sweeten)

Method:

Warm milk without it boiling.

Mixed creamer with instant jelly.

Add instant jelly mixture into the warm milk. Stirring constantly till the instant jelly powder melts.

Turn off heat and pour into jelly mould.

Set aside to cool before chilling in the fridge. Approx 3 hours.

Yuzu and Mandarin Orange jello

As usual, we have so much left over Mandarin Oranges despite not buying any this year. Each year, half will be left to rot and thrown. I felt so bad. This year, since we are not having guests over, our initial plan was just to buy a small box but we were presented with three boxes instead.

I am not sure whether you experience this. For me, after eating too much of this fruit, I tend to develop sore throat and then follow by a cough.

A tip from a doctor, she advice me to always wash the Mandarin Oranges, it is the chemical on the skin that causes us to have sore throat as we uses our hands to peel the skin and touches the fruits before we pop them into our mouth.

So this year, I did wash all my oranges but unfortunately, after the exchange of oranges, I overlooked this part and now guess what, I am down with sore throat again.

Thus I can't really tell whether the doctor's advice really works or not. Well, I will try this method more diligently next year and let you know the outcome.

My girl loves Mandarin Oranges but she is so daunted by those seeds.

Since I am not feeling chirpy and strong and am definitely not in mood for baking but yet I wanted to prepare something for dessert.

I have some left over Yuzu juice from a dessert I prepared awhile ago and I have packets of Konnyaku Jelly powder. So the quickiest and easiest way is to make Yuzu and Mandarin Orange jello. Bingo!

Many years ago, I made konnyaku jello from scratch. That is konnyaku powder with citric acid. These days, it cost so much to buy a bottle and yet I can't guarantee I will used all up within a time frame so ready made packet is a way to go for me now.

Perfect choice as it really sooth that scratchy throat and best of all, my little princess loves it!

What you need:

1 packet of Konnyaku Jelly Powder
850ml Yuzu juice (I like a firmer texture)
3 tbsp of Yuzu concentrated juice
Mandarin orange segments (remove pits and skin)

Method:

Mixed everything except the fruits and bring to a boil.

Pour into mould and add in mandarin orange.

Set aside to set and chill.

Serve cold.

3 Cups chicken (三杯鸡) and Orange Jelly with Chocolate custard

Photo album was missing


Lunar New Year period is generally very hectic but in good sense. It is a good "excuse" to meet up and bond especially those whom we only meet once a year.

Married Singaporeans generally have very busy schedules. Either it is a back to back tuitions/enrichment classes for the kid(s) or those precious weekends are for the jet setting parents badly needed to spent time with their kids.

Thus, for a gathering to happen, a great deal of compromise is needed. When I heard that the system is trying to do away with examination for the Primary 1 & 2. It brought a sense of relief. My mind straight away channel to parents needing to stop sending their K1 & 2 kids to extra lessons just to "catch up" when they hit the mainstream school.

I also lament a sigh of "damns", my little one misses that. Yah, she is in Primary 1 this year and she has to do examinations!!!!

Whatever it is, I simply pity school going kids in Singapore. I also have sympathy for the parents too. Yes, I am starting to feel the pressure as my son will be doing his FIRST National examination this year and I was told that he has got only 5 months to buck up. Haiz.... When L came by for a visit last afternoon, she will understands what I am going through on a day to day basis (mind you, I am definitely a laid back mom but my rules is that he needs to do a little revision each day).

Enough of blabbing.... We are having KT and her family over for dinner. Boy I do misses KT's hearty laughs and my kids do miss hers. (Unfortunately, the kids couldn't make it). Was told on Wednesday that we will have three surprise guests joining us as well. Now, I have to have second thought on the menu.

Usually I like to have a theme for a party but this time round, because of the outbreak of rash (yes, it is intensifying badly of late). I really lost the mojo to search for recipes.

Thus I will have a "rojak" theme. LOLz.

My fridge is constantly stocked with Kim Chi. Yes, home made ones and air flown from Korea. K always courier a huge box over around Christmas time. After sharing my huge loot with my family, I am still left with a big bag of it. Thus, I decide on Kim Chi Fried Rice. A dish that I enjoys alot and now my guests.



The next dish is Cold Tofu with Peanut Butter Sauce. Hahaa... when I told my hubby that I will have this on the menu, he gave me a strange look. I was actually thinking more in line with the spicy rice that we are having so something cold might be good for the palette.

Peanut butter is a hot favourite for my daughter and hubby, so why not. My guests enjoyed this dish tremendously. Even M, who is an Italian love it.

Recipe was taken from Didally.com. Thanks so much for sharing.



Now, as we are having quite a number of male guests. I thought some red meat might fill their tummy better. So how about Stir Fried beef fillet with onions? I recalled mommy used to cook this for us too.



(sorry picture was badly taken as this dish needs to serve hot and the guests just arrived) I also longed for 3 Cups chicken (三杯鸡). Each time I sampled this in different restaurants, they always taste different. I never really find out which one is authentic.

Nevertheless, I took the recipe from My Kitchen, My Laboratory as I always finds her recipe accurate enough not to fail. Thanks my friend, it was really good.

Note: I took A's advice and lessen the water and it cooks beautifully.



What you need:

1 kg chicken, chopped into fairly large pieces
50 ml sesame oil
1 tbsp garlic, coarsely chopped
5cm piece ginger, sliced
5–6 stalks spring onions, cut into 4cm lengths
6 pieces dried chillies, soaked in water for 10 mins (de-seed the chillies. If you can take the fiery spiciness, can leave the seeds in)

Marinade

1 tbsp onion oil
1 tbsp premium soya sauce

Seasoning

1 tbsp dark soya sauce
60ml premium light soy sauce (I used less salt version)
100ml Shao Hsing Hua Tiao wine
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
100ml water * (I reduce it to 70ml)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Method

Marinate chicken with the marinade overnight.

Fry garlic, ginger, half portion of spring onion and dried chillies in sesame oil till fragrant.

Add chicken and fry for another 1–2 minutes.

Pour in seasoning ingredients except salt. Cook over medium low heat until it comes to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 30 mins. Then set lid slightly ajar and continue to simmer for another 15 mins or so. Stir occasionally while simmering.

When the gravy has been reduced, add the rest of the spring onions.

Season with salt.

Dish out and serve.

***** Enough of meats, we needed some greens for a balanced diet. I am going to keep it light and simple.

Bok Choy and shitake mushroom look simple enough. LOLz.



As for dessert, I went for something cold. Afterall, it has been really hot. I really like this dessert, it goes very well with the chocolate custard.

I am definitely going to make this Orange Jelly with Chocolate custard again.



(adapted from Gorgeous Desserts)

What you need:

Jelly 2 litres of fresh orange juices, sieved (I used mandarin oranges)
2 sachets of gelatine
2 oranges (segmented with skin and seeds removed)
3-4 tbsp sugar

Chocolate custard
400ml milk
4 egg yolks
90g milk chocolate
150g dark chocolate

Method

Bring to boil the orange juice and reduced the liquid to 1.2 litres.

Used a little orange juice from the pot and add in gelatine. Wait till they bloom.

Add a little more orange juice and stir till the gelatine dissolved.

Pour gelatine mixture into the pot of orange juice.

Stir and pour them into your serving glass.

Leave to cool.

Scatter orange segments into the serving glass and chill overnight. (orange segment will float).

For the custard

Melt the two chocolates over double boiler. Set aside.

Bring milk to the boil and whisk in the egg yolks. Pass through the sieve into a bowl.

Pour into the chocolate mixture and stir till it is well blended.

Pour the mixture back into the pot and continue cooking till it thickens further.

Cover and leave to cool, then chill.

Before serving, add the custard to the jelly.

Garnish with either chocolate shavings or fruits.

***** I am truly glad that my guests enjoyed the dinner very much and it was good to see them with second and third helpings. The night ended beautifully.