A Citrusy Galette des Rois

I cannot wait. That is, to sink my teeth into all things buttery, yeasty and good. Yep it's less than 2 weeks til I leave for des vacances in France and I'm feeling antsy to get going. I swear I must be hallucinating 'cos I hear all those baguettes and croissants calling out to me, waxing lyrical with their flaky, crusty tones. Aaahhh.

Since my family and friends aren't able to come with me, I felt compelled to whip up a little bit of France for dinner last Saturday. One of my absolute favourites is this lovely citrus version of a galette des rois. It takes only 10 minutes to put together and another 20 minutes before you emerge with a soft, golden pillow, held high with the warm, almond-infused vapours.



I finally got to use the cookbook by Stephane Reynaud that my "tai lo" Ed + Ron got for me when I left for Singapore. :) It is a basic recette for a galette des rois, only zested with orange and pelted with a good squeeze of orange jus. I know you will enjoy it as much as everyone did. Bon ap!



Galette des rois (avec orange)
Adapted from Ripailles Traditional French Cooking by Stephane Reynaud
For 6

2 sheets of puff pastry
150g almond meal
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g butter
1 egg yolk
1 medium orange

Mix the almond meal and sugar together. Melt the butter, cool and add to the almond mixture. Add the eggs, zest and juice of one orange. Stir to just combine.

Roll the puff pastry out into 2 circles. Spread the almond mixture onto one of the disks, leaving a 1cm marign all around. Brush the edges with egg yolk and place the other disk on top. Seal.

Using the point of knife, trace a rosette pattern all over the top nad brush with egg yolk. Bake for 30 minutes at 180degC.

Power Truffles

Ever since I have returned to Singapore, I have been spoilt rotten by Mum's cooking and all the cheap eats (not to mention huge variety) out there. So it seems that getting down and dirty in the kitchen has become somewhat of a rare occasion for me.



And the heat. Nom de dieu, it has been stinking hot over here for the past few days. The walk back after lunch must be the only time I feel that happy to be back at work. You can imagine that sweating it out in the kitchen doesn't exactly appeal to me right now, especially where baking is involved. You must surely feel for me when you think about all the excess heat from the oven seeping out when you are already half-cooked in a 30-degree something kitchen. On the upside, you get to fully steam out your pores here. Free facial anyone?



But I suppose I will make my brother's birthday an exception :) (That's for all the years of crap he had to put up with the terror of 3 older sisters in the family!) My bro is an ENORME chocolate lover. The way he whacks chocolate down will put all self-professed chocoholics to shame. I reckon what every Cadbury or Meiji chocolate-maker-wannabe needs to sustain their business is to find one customer like that and you're set for life.



With that in mind, I thought, what better gift is there than some hand-made bittersweet truffles to really ratch up the intensity of chocolate? I was quite excited too as I haven't made these before. I got my hands on the simplest chocolate ganache recipe I could find, ran back to the shop like a madwoman twice because I forgot the cream and got down to work. After trying to shape the balls and watching each ball die slowly with the heat, I decided to skip the coating altogether and go with a soft dusting of cocoa powder.



I still feel like cracking up at my parents' bewildered faces when I dashed past them into my brother's room at the stroke of midnight with a truffle loaded in a little bowl. And in true Singaporean-ness, he popped it in his mouth and said "Damn gao (intense). Power."

Yay for Power Truffles. *chuckle* Happy Birthday little bro! *hugs*

Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles
200g bittersweet chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), chopped
1 1/4 cup cream
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Heat the cream up in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Take it off the heat and let cool.

Melt the chopped chocolate chunks in a bain marie. Add in the cooled cream and mix. Alternatively, you can heat the cream up and pour it straight onto the chocolate chunks slowly. Mix until smooth.

Firm up the chocolate ganache in the fridge for around 2-3 hours. Using the help of 2teaspoons (I found this much more effective than using my hands), shape the chocolate ganache into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Lightly dust with the unsweetened cocoa powder and let chill in the fridge.

Adapted from Epicurious

Buckwheat cake (Gateau de blé noir)

Buckwheat. It's grey, it's drab, it looks like Portland cement, but oh how I've come to hold it in complete adoration. Its nutty flavour. Its grainy texture. I love it in all forms - as crunchy grains tossed in a fresh green salad, in delicious buckwheat galettes (oh yes we used to prepare them quite often for dinner), and even as a beverage such as beer! :)




Just the other day, Mum bought some almond-based cherry michel cakes which reminded me of this recipe I came across some time ago on Melissa's much-loved Traveler's Lunchbox blog. Knowing how much Mum enjoys buckwheat like me (and in appreciation of how much laundry she's been doing for me as well heehee), this was one cake that had to be attempted.

Now, before you start going awwwww, cooking for my family isn't like cooking for my friends or for myself and E. Before you even get remotely close to the stove, you get bombarded with a million questions and probably an equal amount of cynical looks from four sets of raised eyebrows. Singapore's a place where you can get plentiful good food anytime, anywhere, so the questions would run from "Are you sure you even know how to ignite the stove" to "Whhhyyy do you even want to cook when you can buy it?". In times like these, I just roll my eyes at them and let my cake speak for itself.



And it defended itself very well. When I bit into a slice at work, I had to hi-five myself. It turned out exactly the way I wanted it to - dark, grainy and lightly zested with orange with a texture akin to fine powdery sablé. I added a good measure of chopped walnuts for an added crunch. The best part? Me Mums loved it. And that totally made my day. :)

Torta di Grano Saraceno (Adapted from The Traveler's Lunchbox)
1 heaping cup (175g) almond meal
1 1/2 cups (200g) buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
finely grated zest of 1 large orange and juice from half the orange (or whole,si tu veux)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup (175g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g sugar, divided
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
4 eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 cup of walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

Grease a 9-inch/23cm springform pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the ground almonds, buckwheat flour, salt, cinnamon, lemon zest and baking powder.

In another bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup (200g) of the sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the dry mixture alternately with the milk until everything is well combined.

In a clean mixing bowl and using spotlessly clean beaters, whip the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup (50g) sugar until they form stiff, glossy peaks. Stir one-quarter of the whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the rest. As a final step, fold in the chopped walnuts. Scrape the batter into the greased pan, smoothing the top.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, covering the top loosely with foil if it begins to darken too much. Cool the cake for ten minutes on a rack, then carefully remote the outer ring and cool completely. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. Dust with a little powdered sugar before serving, if you like. I found it sweet enough though.

Breakfast waffles

Mmm. It's interesting how kitchen aromas draw people like moths to a flame. As I stumbled out from my room, bleary-eyed from a late night out, the delicious smell of breakfast being prepared practically had me tripping over myself to get to la cuisine. It was unmistakably one of the three: crepes, waffles, or pancakes. For a carb lover like myself, you can only imagine the delirious effect of eggs, sugar and flour cooking over the grill has on me.

If you could only see my face when I saw this:



Heh Mum even stacked the waffles on chopsticks to prevent it from getting soggy.

I'm kind of ashamed to say this, but what proceeded was a bit of a mad scramble. (Oh yes, I'm glad no one was around to witness this.) Butter, check. Jam, check. Coffee....now, who moved my coffee?? Wandering around for a bit, I finally gave up and settled on some International Roast instant coffee.

Ahh. A kind of quiet satisfaction takes over me as I slather on a small slab of butter and blackberry jam over a warm piece of waffle.



Simple and wholesome. Just the way I like it. :)

Home sweet home.

Oh my, did time just whizz past or has it really been 4 months since my last updated on this blog? Settling home, after all, does take up quite abit of your time, what with a new job, fervent catch-up sessions with loved ones and slowly clue-ing in on the local scene. Then there was that kitchen renovation that took place in between. Whew. I will definitely post up pics on that sometime soon.

I am kind of embarrassed to say that I haven't cooked at all in these 4 months (save for that one time where my sis and I decided on some fresh packaged ravioli with pesto sauce accompanied by a fantastically refreshing tomato and basil salad). I'm spoilt silly with such a wide variety of food (and at such low costs!) and having hot, home-cooked food ready on the table each time I finish work. Oh yes, the complacent bug did catch on.

Well I dont know what else to say for now 'cept that I would like to roll up my sleeves and give this blog a little kick *chuckle*.

Ah, it's good to be home :)

Red, red wine

Christmas has indeed arrived early.

The good people at Cocoa Farm have kindly sent me a box of their beautiful, wholly-organic wine chocolates to sample. The package arrived in the form of 8 individually wrapped samples of 36%-cocoa chocolate studded with petite, shiraz-infused raisins. For once, I thought I’ll try to do these little babies justice and educate myself a little on chocolate appreciation.

Chocolate appreciation is quite a lot like wine-tasting. Needless to say, the chocolate needs to be at room temperature. I have always preferred my chocolate that way (or even a little on the slightly melted side) to a cold, rock-hard piece straight out from the fridge. Now if you are one of those who enjoy stashing your chocolate in the frigo, you’re seriously missing out on a lot of the subtler nuances that your chocolate bar can bring. The heat brings out the aromatic intensity and flavour of the chocolate which can be further released by taking a bit of chocolate and rubbing it between your fingers. The most apparent aromas that came out were those of rosy red cherries and a slight almond fragrance. Mmm.

Taste-wise, I tried it two-ways: one source recommends that you do not chew the chocolate at all and suck it using the roof of your mouth while the second method, which I found more effective, suggested chewing it to maximize the chocolate spread on your tongue and then letting it melt away into a rich, luscious paste. Velvety and milky, the chocolate was perfumed with light floral and juicy berry tones, reminding me of scented jasmine tea, cherries and ripe, ripe strawberries. Sublime. The slight tartness in the raisins cut through the sweetness of the chocolate, something which I was pleasantly surprised by and very much enjoyed. There was also a very slight hint of spiciness which frenchie and I detected too. What? You didn’t think I’ll share my chocolate?



All in all, I would say this is a very pleasant after-dinner chocolate which I suspect might even get on famously with a bit of dry red wine. Although I personally love strong, dark and slightly bitter varieties, this is a nice change which presents a lovely medley of flavours that do not overpower each other so much as complement each other, and can be appreciated by both wine and non-wine lovers alike. Chin!

Pretty darn good coconut rice pudding (Riz au lait et creme de coco)

Sometimes the best things happen out of spontaneity. I wasn't even that keen on dessert after a dinner of zucchini omelette and some seriously good pate Henaff with bread, but someone sure did. And he sure knows what gets me.

"Shall we make some riz au lait?"

"Nah, I'm not really that hungry."

"Do you think it'll taste good with coconut cream? Cause I'm really craving it."

"Oooo coconuuttt. Yeah why not?" Pause. Can feel resistance crumbling faster than sable cookies now. " And make sure you add a little gula melaka while you're at it."

Well I can't say no now can I? He even volunteered to make dessert! And I have to admit, watching him take pleasure in preparing the riz au lait made me feel a little fuzzy inside.

This dessert is extremely easy to prepare, if not a little laborious as you will need to stir it frequently to avoid the rice getting burnt. But you'll sure be glad you did when the heady, coconut fragrance hits your senses. This post is dedicated to Aparna's Sweet Celebrations event - Happy blog anniversary!

You'll need:
Coconut cream
Milk
1 cup of basmati rice
Vanilla extract
Sugar
Gula melaka (caramelized coconut sugar)

Wash and rinse out the excess starch from the rice. Add slightly more milk than is needed to cover the rice. Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Stir constantly while the rice is cooking, adding more milk if necessary to keep a creamy consistency. Add coconut cream, a splash of vanilla, sugar and gula melaka to taste. (Remember it's all about your taste preference!) When the rice is ready, remove from heat and serve warm.

(1 cup of rice will serve 2 hungry people)

Lick-your-plate-clean chocolate spoon cakes

If there is one dessert that's synonymous with the little black dress, it'll have to be half-cooked chocolate cake or spoon cake as I like to call it (yes, a spoon is mandatory!) :) You can dress it anyway you like: a dash of spice, a good douse of coffee, crunchy nut pieces or just leave deep, dark and delicious. Whatever it is, you simply cannot err on the wrong side with this.

This is one dessert that I've made several times but have not blogged about before. Since the weather is warming up a little, I decided to add some fresh cherries that I had picked up at the local grocerer's to offset the richness of the cake. Mmm, cherries and chocolate. Now you're talking my language.

This is specially for Lorraine's Ultimate Chocolate Cake event. Click here for the details!



Half-cooked Chocolate Cakes
6 tsp sugar (you can add more if you like, but this is way enough for me)
225g bittersweet dark chocolate
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 tbsp flour
pitted fresh cherries

1. Butter ramekins. Over a bain marie, melted chocolate and butter. Stir well to combine. Remove from heat.
2. In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow.
3. Temper the egg mixture but adding a bit of warm chocolate mixture to it, then adding the rest. Combine well.
4. Fold in the flour gently until just combined.
5. Place a couple of fresh cherries in each ramkein. Spoon the batter carefully into the ramekins, adding as many cherries as you like as you go along. Place in a preheated oven of 425F and cook for approximately 13 minutes. Remove and serve warm with ice-cream on the side if desired.

Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting

Dear dear me. Moist, satisfying sweet, intensely buttery and slightly nutty, I can't believe how luscious and addictive these cakes turned out to be.

This is the first time I've experimented with brown butter as I've always been wary about the whole carsinogenic thing, but hell, so are those deliciously crisp charred bits you get with your bbq and that doesn't stop me from consuming them from time to time. That being said, I'm only browning the butter on this occasion for the sake of experimenting. If I make these cakes again (which I'm very very sure I will), I think I'll leave out the browning bit.

After being introduced to salted caramels from my trip to Bretagne, I just can't adjust to normal caramels anymore. So the teeny weeny teaspoon of salt stated in the recipe was really quite unacceptable in my opinion. A good, liberal sprinkling of pink murray salt? Oui s'il vous plait!

Another change I did was to use yoghurt for the buttercream frosting instead of heavy cream. That was a chance I took since I did not really feel like buying a tub of heavy cream just for a couple of tablespoons. I am not sure how my other fellow Bakers fared, but it seemed like I needed a couple of tablespoons more of yoghurt than what the recipe called for. The yoghurt provided an extremely pleasant, sourish tang and is one amendment I'm happy to keep.

These cakes are a Shuna Fish Lydon recipe. The recipe can be found at her website at Eggbeater. And thanks to Dolores, Alex and Jenny for hosting this month's theme! You've certainly satisfied one sweet tooth.

Tomato farcies

Have you ever had a farcie? If you haven't, you seriously dont know what you're missing out on!

I was first introduced to these little babies by frenchie and have fell hard for it ever since. The sight of plump, juicy, tomatoes stuffed to the brim with herbed pork mince sitting in the oven, happily dribbling juices all over themselves is enough to make any bosom sigh. What a clever way to sneak in vegetables into your diet too I might add :)

Please forgive the poor lighting in my photos - I took them at night, and probably in a rush too since I was rather famished couldn't wait to sink my teeth into them. We paired them with basmati rice topped with a good dollop of salted butter. Simple but oh so good.

Tomato Farcies
L'ingredients:
Beefsteak tomatoes (any big tomato will do, preferably one that has a stable butt)
Pork mince (enough to fill the tomatoes with)
A bunch of fresh rosemary leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Wash the tomatoes, cut off the tops and reserve. Using a spoon, carefully spoon the inside of a tomato and set aside. Repeat for remaining tomatoes.
2. In a bowl, season the pork with salt and pepper to taste as well as the rosemary.
3. Take a handful of pork and stuff the tomato shells with it. When it has been filled to the brim, place the cap back on. Repeat until all the tomatoes are done.
4. Placed the capped tomatoes into a casserole dish and pour a little water in the base so the tomatoes can retain their juiciness. Add a good dash of olive oil over the tomatoes and place in the oven.
5. The cooking process should take around half an hour, depending on the size of the tomatoes. In between cooking, open the oven and baste the tomatoes with the juices. When the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and serve warm.

spice me up.

With the stormy, temperamental weather going in Sydney, it almost feels like a luxury to be curled up at home with a warm cuppa frothy, fragrant chai . Simply soak a couple of tea bags in hot water over medium heat and add milk, sugar and spices (I used a generous sprinkling of freshly crushed up cardamom, cloves and cinnamon) Bring to a boil, turn off the flame and let steep for a couple of minutes. Serve warm.

The Tea Room @ QVB

High teas have never really particularly appealed to me. The idea of piling you up with a whole lot of desserts is a weeeee bit of a stretch even for my immense sweet tooth. Personally, I'd rather just have one or two quality desserts at a time so I can savour the treat. But of course, a birthday celebration always calls for excesses, and Sunday saw us at The Tea Room in QVB.

The Tea Room was set with gorgeous high ceilings and chi-chi wallpaper, but a strong, almost fishy odour overtook our senses and had us baffled. I wonder what it was. Feeling rather famished after a morning session out on the water, I decided to skip the sparkling today and settled for the traditional afternoon tea set. I needed something strong and bitter to accompany the sweets and ordered an aromatic black lavender tea.



The sweets and savouries arrived on a 3-tiered plate. On the bottom tier were buttery scones studded with raisins and slices of spinach tart. The scones were delicious with a thick, grainy jam and cold clotted cream. I particularly enjoyed the warm, savoury spinach tart.



The top tier had the finger sandwiches with creamy smoked salmon and a ham & cheese filling. I was starving so I practically devoured these. There was also a most tasty little cream cheese tart. Finger lickin' good.



The middle tier was of course laden with all sorts of sweets. There was a little strawberry boat with a cream filling, a passionfruit yoyo sandwiched with the most heavenly tangy cream, two meringue drops sandwiched with what I think is a pistachio cream, a rich square of mud cake and a carrot cake. The passionfruit yoyo was the standout - it still has me salivating at the thought of it.



Given the innocuous little bite-sized quantities, we were more than stuffed at the end of it. Looking back, I should have tried the gluten free menu. Maybe next time!

The Tea Room
North End, QVB
455 George Street, Sydney
9283 7279

Back!

Yes yes I know. You'll be forgiven to think that I've disappeared from the face of the earth given the frequency of my postings. But well, it is kind of hard to fit in blog posts especially when you're out about been travelling and having such a wonderful time. I've never felt this pampered in my life. My babe flew me down to Victoria for my birthday and the memories of cruising down the Great Ocean Drive and lunching on the most delicious grilled fish and thick-cut chips in the tranquil town of Port Fairy still sends tingles down my spine. Did I mention I had a heli ride too? :)



I was also flown down to Singapore by my besties for our dear, dear Viv's wedding. Weddings make me all soppy. I felt a huge lump in my throat when I was about to see her in her gown but had to muster all my strength to stop - hey, it was only 6 in the morning and I couldn't start that early, right? Sighz. Events like these just make me think of how lucky I am to have such close friends and how much I miss everyone back home.



And oooh yes, I went to the fish spa!!! It's the latest craze in Singapore where the fishes do the dirty work of grazing on your dead skin. Yeah I know, bleah. But your feet do feel quite smooth after that. Hee.



Well, I'm back in Sydney and starting to settle in after the mad rush of events including a research exhibition shortly after my trip home. And I am dying to share a little gem with you that I've discovered in the most unexpected of places. Saturday saw me at the Mind Body & Spirit Expo with a couple of my fave singa-dutchies. Hoping to gain some spiritual insight from the expo, I emerged from the fair thoroughly delighted with bags of Mayan Xocolat chocs and cosmetics instead.



I've come across the Mayan Xocolat brand before at the Aroma Fest but did not get to try then because of the long queue. There was a much shorter line this time at the MB&S Expo. Initially intrigued by the coffee, I was equally enthralled with the selection of chocolates on offer. There were xocolat-coated coffee beans, a most delicious orange peel xocolat (both featured in the photo), sesame xocolat and xocolat-coated crystallized ginger. The drinking chocolate is also dark, smooth and soothing and can be made into a rich chocolate paste using less water. The xocolats all have a tinge of chilli in them which leaves a pleasant buzz on your tongue. And the best part? Mayan Xocolat deals with the Guatemalan coffee/cocoa growers so that the profits go to them directly. Hopefully this will be a step towards helping growers like these out of poverty. Hey, quality foods for a good cause? I'm definitely in! :) And oh, I got a bag of caramelish-molasses too.

You can find out more about them at www.mayancoffee.com.au. They have a cafe at Danks Street, Waterloo. The banquet menus look interesting - I'll definitely be dropping by to have a look!

I.love.chestnuts.

Fillet mignon surrounded in a cushy bed of crunchy long beans, tender mushrooms, melt-in-your-mouth fagioli beans and creamy, buttery chestnuts. Sighz. Need I say more?

*Burpz* Oops, 'cuse me.

Chat Thai

With the cheap meal deals on offer and fast service, Thai food invariably draws in much of the student crowd around Sydney Uni. Seriously, I’ve never seen more Thai restos anywhere else. Back in Singapore, my knowledge of Thai food was limited to fluffy pineapple fried rice with generous servings of pork floss and the ubiquitous sour, tangy Tom Yum soup. Sydney (okay, and maybe Africa) must have been the last place where I thought I’ll get to know Thai food better.

However with the multitude of restos around serving up their own versions of Thai cuisine, it’s hard to figure out what’s the real deal sometimes. And who better to ask than another Thai?

Saturday late morning saw us at the Contemporary Art Museum for the 2008 Biennial Art Expo with our favourite Singa-Dutch couple. As expected, there was the small handful of intriguing art pieces and more than your fair share of mind-boggling ones, so I was really quite looking forward to lunch to perk me up. Since we were in the city, we decided to check out Chat Thai. A mutual Thai friend had brought them there before and they couldn’t stop raving about it and how authentic it supposedly was. ‘Nuff said. They had me at authentic.

The dreary wet weather must have kept the crowd away and we were lucky to get a seat rather quickly; I was told that it’s normally packed to the brim during mealtimes. Not that I minded waiting. The kitchen was out in front at the waiting area and we could get a sneak peak at the goodies on offer. At the sight of khanom craok, my heart must have skipped a beat. I’ve read about these little coconut snacks on Eating Asia and have since spent many a night thinking about them. And here they were, brazenly looking all golden and crispy right in front of me. In Sydney. Boy, life is good to me.



We were quickly ushered to our seats and the waitress laid out 4 beaten tin cups in front of us. After poring through the menu for a bit, our orders were placed. 10 minutes must have whizzed by when our first dish was served.


Khao Mok Gai

The Khao Mok Gai reminded me a lot of nasi biriyani. The chicken was extremely moist and tender and the rice deliciously spiced, but it was the sauce that blew me away – it was tangy and rich in coriander. The crunchy deep fried shallots rounded off the entire dish nicely.


Ki Mao

Next up was the Ki Mao, and I am more than happy to report that there were no traces of tomato sauce in sight. The flat rice noodles had a nice bite to it and there was just the right amount of seasoning (not drenched in sauce like some places serve it) with lots of fresh, half-cooked veggies, just the way I like it.


Crying Tiger

I was a little apprehensive about the name Crying Tiger, but all traces of doubt fell away as I sank my teeth into the soft, char-grilled pieces of beef. The meat held its own and I found the sweet chili sauce on the side almost unnecessary.


Tort Mun Pla

The Tort Mun Pla was a dish of deep fried, spiced fish mousse served with roasted basil leaves. Drizzled with a fragrant sauce, this was quite more-ish.


Khanom Craok

Dessert. Finally, the dish I’ve been anticipating. It was everything I dreamed of and more. The crispy exterior easily gave way to a sinfully rich, cococnut custard filling. My first bite had me contemplating buying a whole box to take home, but doing so will surely lead to overkill. Besides, I need another excuse to come back soon!


Kai Nok Gatah and friend banana fritters

The deep-fried desserts were a bit of a disappointment. I thought the Kai Nok Gatah (fried cassava dumplings) were rather bleah. I usually love my banana fritters (known as goring pisang back home), but these were dry and to an extent, made me think of cardboard.


Red Ruby

The Red Ruby was a special which wasn’t listed on the dessert menu. This was surprisingly good, very good in fact. The gelatinous layer on the chestnut pieces were rose-flavoured, something I’ve never had before. I could easily finish a bowl of this on my own.

I forgot to take a picture, but we ended the meal with Thai coffee with condensed milk, just the way we drink our kopi and teh back in Singapore. I never thought there’ll come a day when I would get excited over finding kopi in a resto. Although this is something I can make on my own, it’s somehow more satisfying when someone else makes it for you. Sighs. The things we take for granted!

Oh khanom craok, I’ll be back for you.

Chat Thai
20 Campbell Street
Sydney

Chee Cheong Fun

Even having lived overseas for 8 years, I still get hit by the occasional bout of homesickness. Anyone who has been to Singapore must know that food is central to our society, and as such, I've been seeking solace in SE-Asian cuisines whenever I can.

Anyone who has been to yumcha would recognize these cheong fun rice-noodle rolls. Back home, it is known as chee cheong fun and is quite a popular breakfast food. The HK-style cheong fun is more savoury whereas cheong fun is more commonly served with a sweet/savoury sauce in Singapore. Chee cheong fun is extremely easy and takes only 3 minutes to whip up as fresh cheong fun is available in most Asian grocery stores. All you need to do is cut them into bite sized chunks, mix a little hoisin sauce with water to form a thick but runny paste and lace the cheong fun generously with the sauce. Add a good sprinkling of sesame seeds and serve with a little bit of sambal chilli on the side if desired. Sit back and enjoy.

Eclairs

Sometimes, too much of a good thing really can be a bad thing.

Think about it. Apples half the size of your head. Big fluffy pillow-like croissants instead of small, buttery, flaky ones. Slabs of banana bread pumped up to the equivalent size of 3 slices of bread stacked together. Now what they make up for in quantity, they fall short in quality.

I usually buy free range eggs and there was a substantial discount on some large 800g free-range ones. Well, money oftentimes speaks louder and so we thought, what the heck, how different can it possibly be? Oh trust me, when it comes to eclairs, it can take on catastrophic proportions.



The original recipe called for 5 large eggs, so I decided to halve it and go for 2.5 eggs. My first batch of eclairs looked more like a bunch of cooked tongues, all flat and spread out. Zut. Quel q'un se es assis sur les eclairs? Did someone sit on my eclairs? I thought I didn't do the recipe right, so this time I repeated the recipe, but decided to use just 2 eggs instead. The second batch struggled to rise and did so more than the first batch, but probably won by a nano-millimeter. Pffft.

I decided to do a bit of research and found that the problem might be too much egg. To make sure this was the case, I watched a video on Youtube to get a rough idea of what the consistency of the pate choux should be like.

So half stirring and half praying (as I was down to my last 2 eggs), I used 1.5 eggs and voila, the eclairs puffed up beautifully and obediently like mini corn cobs. Taking into mind that this was achieved with one whole egg less, I was a little gobsmacked. These 800g eggs were not just large eggs, they must be extra-large eggs. Shudder.

The creme patissiere on the other hand was a breeze to whip up. I love love LOVE coffee eclairs and substituted melted chocolate with a tbsp of instant coffee instead. It was rich, velvety and simply lovely. I piped the creme into the eclair instead of slicing it into half and spreading it in between. And since we had to keep a chocolate element in the eclairs, I dipped them in a simple dark chocolate ganache made with dark 74% chocolate and thickened cream. My, the combination was so very good.

Let's just say I'm glad I only have to do this once a month or I'll probably end up looking like a choux puff! Merci beaucoup Tony and Meeta for coming up with this splendid idea! You can find the recipe at their blogs.