Vietnamese Lemon Grass Grilled Chicken and Rice Noodle Salad

I had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant near to my office a week ago. Instead of the usual Pho' noodle, I ordered a rice noodle salad instead. I've not tried this before so it would be something new. The dish came with lots of fresh herbs which is what I like ... the smell of freshly chopped basil and mint was so refreshing. A chillie sauce accompanied the noodle - a supposedly Asian salad dressing equivalent!

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and told myself that I'll whiff up something similar for dinner.

I found a similar recipe and asked my husband to buy the herbs on his way home. The recipe required very little cooking, rather more chopping and slicing insteand ad.

I was extremely pleased with the end result and my husband thoroughly enjoyed his dinner. He even had two bowls of the noodle salad.

Vietnamese Lemon Grass Grilled Chicken and Rice Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

2 golden shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks lemon grass, finely chopped
80 ml (1/3 cup) fish sauce
450 gm chicken breast
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
55 gm (¼ cup) white sugar
70 ml lime juice
60 ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar
250 gm fresh rice sheet noodles
1 iceberg lettuce, cut into thin wedges
2 Lebanese cucumbers, cut into julienne
1 carrot, cut into julienne
50 gm bean sprouts
1½ cups (loosely packed) coriander leaves
1½ cups (loosely packed) Vietnamese mint leaves

To serve:
Roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Method:

1) Combine shallot, 3 cloves of garlic and lemongrass in a mortar and, using a pestle, pound to a coarse paste. Add 1 tbsp fish sauce, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and pound to combine. Place chicken and lemongrass paste in a non-reactive bowl, toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 1 hour.

2) Combine remaining garlic and fish sauce, chilli, sugar, lime juice and vinegar and stir until sugar dissolves. Set dressing aside.

3) Place rice noodles in a heat-proof bowl, pour over boiling water and stir using chopsticks to separate noodles. Drain, refresh in cold water, then drain again.

4) Heat a chargrill pan over medium heat. Grill chicken breast until lightly brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and slice thinly.

5) Combine noodles, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, bean sprouts and herbs in a large bowl. Add sliced chicken breast to the noodle salad, drizzle with dressing and toss to combine, divide among bowls, scatter with peanuts and serve immediately.

Brownies

I was in one of my mid-week baking moods and felt in need of a chocolate fix.

Furthermore I wasn't about to spend more than an hour in the kitchen stirring and washing dishes. I needed a quick and easy recipe. Thus it was by chance that I stumbled upon this brownie recipe whilst browsing through Helene of Tartelette archieved posts. I decided this was the one!

I already had all the ingredients either sitting in the pantry cupboard or in the refrigerator. Furthermore I had another 4 pieces of 250g of butter which had yet to be consumed and with an expiration date of end June.

You'll probably wondering why I have so much butter sitting in my fridge ... is there a butter shortage due to the fuel crisis??? You wouldn't believe this but I had chanced upon a butter sale through a local auction site. The seller was selling 10 pieces of 250g of french unsalted butter for $1 each - so I ended up buying all 10 pieces. It was a steal going for 1/3 of it's usual retail price!

I'm usually skepticle about brownie recipes as those that I had tried in the past tended to be a bit dry and heavy. Something like those that comes out of a cake mix box. This recipe was the opposite, moist and extremely good. If you are a chocolate fan and looking to try something without raising too much of a sweat, this is just right up your alley. I added in some chopped walnuts just for the extra crunch and texture. In addition I also reduced on the sugar and used just slightly more than 3/4 cup. And guess what, I was done within one hour and this included baking time as well. Definitely a "must try" again recipe!

Katherine Hepburn Brownies

Ingredients:

4 oz bittersweet chocolate (113g)
2 tsp ground coffee (or you could use instant coffee)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 lb unsalted butter (4 oz or 113g)
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 ts Vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 ts salt

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 325 F (or 162 C).

2) Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

3) In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate with the butter over low heat, stirring until completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, coffee, cocoa powder and cinnamon .

4) Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk well.

5) Stir in the flour and salt and mix well.

6) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Hippie Dog

About 4 years back when I only had Benji (my white Shitzu) - by the way he's now 11 years in dog years (in human age he is 77 years, so he's about my dad's age) - I had decided to keep his coat long.


He's got a very thick coat and leaving it long meant regular combing to prevent matting. Now that I look back at those times, I don't think I'll ever do it again!

His hair got to a stage that was long enough to even braid it. I would tie 2 pony tails on top of his head and every time I'd take him out for a walk, passers-by would mistake him for a "girl" - that's because he looked very adorable. Don't you think he looks adorable?

Since then, I've now kept his coat short. Not for my convenience (well some ...) but more so for him. As Benji grows older, it's much more comfortable for him and he doesn't feel too hot when the temperature runs in the high 90's F.

This dog of mine has always been a rebel dog and has his own personality. He'll only come to you when he's in the mood or when he wants his tummy to be rubbed. He's a sucker for tummy rubs! Otherwise he'll just sit in his corner and just look at you from afar. I can sometimes call him until the cows come home and he'll still be sitting in his corner. He's probably thinking "what, you want me to come over ..... are you mad!" He doesn't like to play fetch as well - but he will do so for his favourite toy, yellow rubber ducks, but don't expect him to bring it to you.

Fat chance!

This is what he looks like now with his short coat!

Orange Cupcakes

Oranges other than giving you your daily dose of vitamin C is also a great ingredient to any baker. Just by adding a dash of orange juice or a teaspoon or 2 of its zest, cakes and desserts are immediately transformed.

Furthermore the whiff of an orange cake in the oven is simply indescribable. With this in mind I decided I'd bake a batch of orange cupcakes. I had read somewhere that Valencia oranges are best for juicing, beverages, sauces, cooking and baking.

The recipe that I had come across was really simple and judging from the number of ingredients it required it shouldn't take long.




Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup cake flour (I had used plain flour)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs, separated and whites beaten until stiff
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange juice
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp orange zest (optional)

Method:

1) Combine butter, sugar, egg yolks, orange zest and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Cream ingredients together thoroughly.

2) Mix flour, salt and baking powder together in a separate mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients 1/3 at a time alternating with adding portions of the orange juice to the creamed mixture. Fold in beaten egg whites.

3) Spoon batter into cupcake liners until 1/2 full.

4) Bake in a 350 degrees preheated oven for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

Orange Buttercream

Ingredients:

50g/2oz Softened Butter
100g/4oz Icing Sugar
1 tsp orange zest
2 tsp orange juice

Method:

1) Place the softened butter in a mixing bowl and sift the icing sugar over the top.

2) Add orange juice and zest and cream all the ingredients together until well blended.

Fish Cakes

Friday evening dinner -

whatever will I put on the dining table??

Instead of the usual "eat out" session which we usually do on Friday nights, I decided I'll do something simple and healthy. You know what they say, too much of a good thing is not good for you! And I'm talking about all our eat out sessions.

So it's fish this evening - maybe some fish cakes with a side salad would be good idea. I popped into the supermarket before heading back home and bought all the ingredients that were required in the recipe. They do say that fish is brain food right?? I'm not sure if this covers canned salmon as well but what the heck ..... I'm not going to think too much about it!

I remembered when I was young my mum used to make something similar and we always looked forward to her fish cakes. Sometimes she'll use minced chicken or crab meat instead and it was just as yummy.

My husband enjoyed the fish cakes. In fact he had 3 pieces and he said it was something different from the usual stuff I would cook up. He's not a fussy eater (unlike me) so I guess I can't complain much.

Fish Cakes

(makes 6 salmon patties)
Recipe from Exclusively Food

130g cooked potato, about 2 medium potatoes (boiled, steamed or microwaved)
210g tin salmon (or you could use canned tuna as well)
1 tablespoon (20ml) mayonnaise
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
1 large egg yolk (about 59g weight)
3 teaspoons finely chopped onion
Salt and pepper

For the coating:

1 egg
1 tablespoon (20ml) milk
About 2 tablespoons (25g) plain flour
Rounded 1/2 cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon (20ml) oil, for frying

Method:

1) Roughly mash the cooked potato and allow to cool.

2) Remove skin and bones from salmon and flake into large pieces.

3) Place salmon, potato, mayonnaise, parsley, egg yolk, onion, salt and pepper into a bowl. (For variation you may want to add sliced chillies as well for a little heat)

4) Gently stir ingredients to combine.

5) Refrigerate mixture for about 30 minutes to firm up.

6) Place egg and milk into a small bowl and beat together with a fork.

7) Shape cooled mixture into about six balls and lightly coat with each ball with flour.

8) Roll a ball in egg and milk mixture then coat with breadcrumbs, flattening the ball slightly to form a patty shape. Repeat with remaining balls.

9) Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook patties over medium heat for a few minutes on each side, until patties are golden brown and cooked through. Serve with a side salad.

Marble Cake

My god-daughter and only niece
turned 9 years old recently on 15 May.

I had told her that we (my husband and I) would be back home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (which is my home town) to celebrate her belated birthday. I took leave from work on Friday and we embarked on our 4 hour drive up north just before 6am to escape the traffic across the border.

The night before our journey I decided that I would bake her a cake. She likes chocolate and nothing else. She's kind of a picky eater as well ...whatever her mother doesn't eat, she doesn't as well. But she's now trying to venture out of her comfort zone such as trying foods that are a bit spicy.

I decided I'd bake a very chocolatey marble cake for her. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Living website. I had made it before and I liked it very much. I will usually add a bit more cocoa than what's required in the recipe as I like to have a more chocolate flavour. I decorated the cake when I was back in Kuala Lumpur and did a quick short cut on the ganache as I didn't have any cream in the fridge. I just melted some valrhora chocolate in the micro-wave and added some milk with a teaspoon of honey to it to come up with a quick improvised version for the ganache. It turned out alright .... no complaints! I then decorated the cake with pink sugar icing flowers.

Ingredients
(recipe from Martha Stewart Living)
one 9-by-5-inch loaf.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3) Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla.

4) Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside one-third of the batter.

5) In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.

6) Spoon batters into the prepared pan in two layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion.

7) Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.

8) Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack. Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

My First Daring Bakers Challenge

Today is D-DAY for posting my very first Daring Bakers Challenge! And boy was it a challenge! This month's challenge is hosted by Lisa and Ivonne (the co-founders of Daring Bakers). Also there was a slight twist to this month's hosting.

Fran of Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful were also invited to co-host this month's challenge.

When I first received the email early this month from Lisa with the details of the challenge I was apprehensive ... can I do it or not! The challenge called for Daring Bakers to bake an Opéra Cake.

Whatever is an Opéra Cake ..... I really had no clue. Thus the pictures which Lisa included in her email certainly helped me with the visualization. I've never done anything like this in my short baking career - the ingredients and instructions already blew me away! In fact I've never baked a layer cake as well! Now what have I signed myself up for ....... I had to read the entire email at least 5 times before it sank in.

So what exactly is an Opéra Cake? Well it's a cake that is made up (usually) of five components: a joconde (a cake layer), a syrup (to wet the joconde), a buttercream (to fill some of the layers), a ganache or mousse (to top the final cake layer) and a glaze (to cover the final layer of cake or of ganache/mousse). My head's already in a swirl!

I decided to do a scaled down version which required me to bake a normal joconde and then cut it into smaller shapes - I went with a hexagon cutter as round and oval shapes were quite common.

Traditionally, a joconde is flavoured with darker flavours such as chocolate or coffee. But this month's DB challenge called for a light coloured Opéra Cake. Luckily the recipe could be broken up into portions so it was much easier. I did the buttercream ealier in the week and fnished the rest of the cake on a Saturday night. My husband watched the telly whilst I busied myself away in the kitchen. He did help at one stage when I had problem trying to take the joconde out from the tray. I decided to omit doing the mousse, so it was 1 step less for me. For variation, I added to some of my cakes a layer of raspberry puree on top of the buttercream.

We had the cake on Sunday morning and the remaining I took it to office. It was immediately whoffled away by everyone ... YUMMY was all I heard in between mouthfuls of cake.

Ingredients for the joconde:

(can be made 1 day ahead)

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Method:

1) Divide the oven by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and another in the lower third of the oven.

2) Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

3) Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

4) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

5) If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

6) Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix).

7) Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

8) Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven.

9) Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and un-mould.

10) Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

Ingredients for the syrup:
(can be made 1 week ahead)

½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of your choice (i.e., vanilla extract, almond extract, cognac, limoncello, coconut cream, honey etc.)

Method:

1) Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

2) Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.


Ingredients for the buttercream:

1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 grams) water
Scrap the seeds of one vanilla bean (or alternatively use 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Flavouring of your choice (a tablespoon of an extract, a few tablespoons of melted white chocolate, citrus zest, etc.)

Method:

1) Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

2) Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) [*Note: Original recipe indicates a temperature of 255◦F (124◦C), however, when testing the recipe I found that this was too high so we heated to 225◦F and it worked fine] on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

3) While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

4) When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

5) Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

6) While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

7) With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

8) At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.

9) Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).


Ingredients for the ganache/mouse:

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

Method:

1) Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.

2) Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.

3) In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.

4) Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.

5) If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.

6) If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.Ingredients for the glaze (best to make this when you are ready to assemble cake)

Ingredients for the glaze:

14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

Method:

1) Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.

2) Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

3) Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.


To assembling the Opéra Cake

1) Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

2) Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.

3) Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

4) Spread about three-quarters of the buttercream over this layer.

5) Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

6) Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

7) For the final layer, spread the ganache/mousse (if you haven’t already) on top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

8) In the meantime make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.