Yorkshire Pudding - great with roast chicken or beef.

This recipe I found on the internet has proven perfect every time I tried.. I forgot however who it was from..




To make 12 puddings you will need:

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup of milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk until light and frothy.
2. Add milk and salt and whisk breezily.
3. Sift flour into the egg mixture, a little at a time, whisking all along the way. This is important so as to incorporate a lot of air to make the pudding light and pluffy and tall.
4. Let sit at room temperature while you pre-heat your oven to 425F (220C)
5. Swirl some oil in each of the muffin tin
6. Pre-heat the oiled pans
7. Place the oiled tins in the oven for 5-10 minutes until smoking hot.
8. Remove from oven and place on a low heat burner.
9. Spoon batter into the tins - 3/4 full.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes until batter has risen high above the tins and brown to your liking

Terriyaki Chicken with Chicken Rice

For the marinade

2 cloves of garlic (pressed)

4 slices of ginger

1 cup of Kikoman soy sauce

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar (a little less than a full cup)

Mix all of the above until all the sugar dissolves. If you prefer hot you may put in 2 slices and seeded Thai bird chilli.

Marinade Chicken breasts in the above marinade for at least an hour up to overnight. Grill the chicken breast on a grill pan. Slice thinly.

For the Chicken rice

2 cups of rice

1 cube chicken stock

2 slices of ginger

2 crushed garlic

2 cups of water

Rinse the rice and put all the above in a microwavable  container and cook on high heat for 17 minutes.

My Triffle

For the egg custard

1 cup milk

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon corn starch

a pinch of salt

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon butter (optional)

Whisk all the above in a pot over medium heat till mixture thickens. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Then mix in 2 tablespoon of vanilla extract.

Other ingredients

1 can of fruit cocktail

1 can of peach

1 packet of strawberry jello ( jelly mixture ) -prepared as per instruction on the box

pound cake (diced)

Assembly is really up to your own creativity. The objective is to make the layers colourful and attractive.
Place half of the pound cake in a see-through bowl. Pour egg custard over the cake cubes. put in a layer of  fruits and followed by a layer of  jelly. Repeat the layering. and best if there is layer of custard over he very top . Arrange peach slices over the top layer.

Xinjiang style Pulled Noodle

This picture was one which I made earlier using the authentic Xinjiang sauce bought from China on my last trip there. However today I made this dish using a locally available sauce(Thai Chilli sauce - see below)  I found at my neighborhood grocery store. Taste was just as good  but I had forgotten to take a picture of today's noodle. I will make it again soon and try to load a new picture. But here is the recipe.

1/2 stalk medium size (about 1/4 cup)

2 stalks spring onion

1/2 stalk celery

1 cup green vegetables like baby mustard green / brocolli (or you may use asparagus, carrot, young corn or garlic shoots (as in the picture)- the choice of vegetables is really unlimited

1 cube chicken stock

3 tablespoons Thai chili paste (see picture)

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

4 coils of dried pulled noodle (see picture)

4 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

1 1/2 cup water

In a saucepan boil 4 cups of water. Put in the dried noodles and simmer until al dente. pour out the hot water and put the noodles in a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process and give the noodles a springy texture. Put aside.

in this picture is the Xinjiang chilly paste I bought from China

In a wok heat up the oils, and put in the leek, celery and  spring onion. Toss until fragrant. Add in the chicken and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add in the special chilli paste, oyster sauce and chicken stock. Then add in the vegetables and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add in the water and stir till the sauce thickens a little. Pour over the noodles and serve hot. 

the pulled noodles

the Thai Tee-Pee Chilly Paste available locally

My favorite Apple Bread Pudding with vanilla custard sauce

 5 tablespoon melted butter (unsalted)

1/2 large baguette,cubed

1 cup green apple, peeled and diced

3 tablespoon raisin

2 egg yolk

2 whole eggs

1/3 cup sugar

11/4 cup whipping cream (or coconut cream)

1 cup milk

2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F. brush bottom of 9in square pan (or you can use individual molds) with half the melted butter. Toss bread cubes , apple and raisin together with the remaining butter and spoon into baking dish.
In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, egg yolk and sugar. Add in milk , cream, nutmeg and vanilla. Pour over bread and butter mixture, pressing down gently. Let stand for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with some sugar. Place the mold in a water bath and bake for about 50 minutes or until the centre of the pudding springs back and golden brown.

Vanilla Custard sauce 

2 eggs

2 tablespoon sugar

1 cup of milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

In a sauce pan mix all the above and whisk over  low heat until sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and strain through a strainer for a smooth sauce to be drizzle over the bread pudding.