Steam FaGao & Hakka XiBan

Every 1st or 15th Chinese Calendar , Chinese have praying and they will doing to prepare some fruit ,Chinese cake and some praying things on this day . The most basic Chinese cake which they prepare is Fagao.

Due to my father worship pray drop on Chinese calendar 11month 14th so I also prepare Fagao and Xiban for the worship ceremony and the normal 15th pray also.

Normal we also bought the Fagao at market or my aunties will prepare for us. I never think it simple and just need a few ingredients.

Ingredient :

- 220g Sticky Rice Flour粘米粉

- 100g Sugar

- 200ml water

-2 tsp baking soda

- Red Coloring

- Yellow Coloring

Instruction :

Mix all dry ingredient together and slowly add in the water

While the mixture mix well, pour  1/3 mixture to another bowl.

Add in red coloring into 2/3 mixture and yellow coloring to 1/3 mixture.

Take a cupcake paper or any muffin cup pour in 2/3 mixture

After pour in 1tbsp yellow mixture in the center

Boil the water and when the water boiling only put in the Fagao cup to steam 15min. 

For the XiBan Ingredient and the Instruction and refer to this link Hakka-Xi-Ban.html

Red Bean Bun

Recently I love to make bread. Although I know eat a lot of bread will gain weight also, but I still interesting on it. Red bean bun also a favor bun of my mom and the kids also love it.There still have 2/3 bag red bean paste leave over form the previous Tang Yuan. So today I’ll make the red bean bun for the next day breakfast.

Let’s see what have to prepared

TongZhong Roux Ingredients  :

- 10g (1 1/2tbsp) Bread Flour (Also can use all multipurpose flour)

- 55ml water

Dough Ingredients :

- 25ml WramMilk

- 3g (1tsp) Yeast

- 15g (4tsp) Sugar

- 90g (12tbsp) Bread Flour (Also can use all multipurpose flour)

- 1tbsp egg

- 5g butter

Other Ingredients :

- Red Bean Paste

- Egg (for egg wash )

Instruction :

Part 1 - TongZhong Roux

- Firstly we have to prepare the TongZhong Roux before we make the dough. Take a small pot add in 

  55ml water and the 10g Flour and mix it well

- Turn up low heat and warm up the TongZhong liquid and nonstop stir until thickened.

- When be thickened then can set aside to cool. After can start to prepare the yeast.

Part 2 - Yeast

- Warm the milk and add in to the big bowl. 

- Add in 1tsp sugar and stir until dissolved into the milk .

- Add 1tsp yeast and keep stir until the yeast mix well with the milk. 

- Allow the yeast prove for 10 to 15 mins. (Then you can see there have some some bubbles in there)

 Part 3 - Dough

- While the yeast ready add in the TongZhong Roux and stir well.

- Add in 1tbsp egg in the mixture and mix it.

- Add in the balance of Sugar and keep stir.

- Add a pinch of salt and the 90g flour

- Use the spoon slowly mix all the mixture.

- Then can start knead with hand until forms dough.

- While the dough mix it well then can add in 5g butter can keep knead about 10 to 15 minutes.

- Cover with the wrapping plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour.

- After an hour, the dough should be double or bigger size than that. 

Part 4 - Make the Red Bean bread

- Press dough to release the air.

- Divided the dough to 20 small ball and make a round ball out of each piece.

- Refer to the below and make the bun .

- After the shape done and cover with the plastic wrapping and let rise for 30 min.

- After the sausage bread will rise double size and can egg wash it

- Put into the preheat oven bake 15 minutes  180 ͒ .

There have many way to make the red bean bun shape, i just follow few of it to make it. 

Fan Red Bean Bun Shape

- Take a round dough and flatten a ball until it is about 3 inches in diameter 

- Place 1 red bean ball in the center.

- Fold the dough up and over the red bean paste to cover it

- Seal the center tightly so that the red bean paste will not come out.

- Put the sealed part face down on a mat and press the dough into about a 2 inch diameter.

- Cut 8 decorative slits around the edge, equally spaced apart.

Flower Red Bean Bun Shape

- Take a round dough and flatten a ball until it is about 3 inches in diameter 

- Place 1 red bean ball in the center.

- Fold the dough up and over the red bean paste to cover it

- Seal the center tightly so that the red bean paste will not come out.

- Use the roll pin flatten out the dough as round shape

- Use the knife slide it but don't slide until bottom

- Turn over the flatten dough and start to roll it.

French Cut Red Bean Bun

- Take a round dough and flatten a ball until it is about 3 inches in diameter 

- Place 1 red bean ball in the center.

- Fold the dough up and over the red bean paste to cover it

- Seal the center tightly so that the red bean paste will not come out.

- Use the roll pin flatten out the dough as rectangle

- Roll it like the Swiss roll style

- Use the scissors cut like French Cut. 

Steph's Home Cook Red Bean Bun

Bacon Potato Pancake with Poach Egg

Breakfast is a important meal for everybody. It not only for health, it also let your days more wonderful. I like to cook different type of breakfast and share it at my social page like Facebook, Instagram or WeChat.

Today i prepare the Bacon Potato Pancake with Poach Egg

Let's see what ingredient have to prepared :

- 1pcs Potato

- 2pcs Egg

- 2 tsp All purpose flour

- Pinch of salt and pepper 

- Bacon

- Spring Onion (Optional)

Instruction:

- Cook the bacon and put aside.

- Boil the water and cook the potato. After the potato cooked then mash it. (If you have the leave over

  mash potato from the previous meal you can straight away use it ) 

- After mash the potato add in the flour, egg , salt , pepper, spring onion and bacon mix it well.

- You can use the spoon take a scope of mixture mash potato then press it down to the tray for cook 

   or you can mold it like small burger shape also can 

- Add in some olive oil and start to fried the mash potato mixture. 

- When the time fried the mash potato pancake , you can start prepare the poach egg. 

- After the Mash potato Pancake ready add the poach egg on top of it. 

Steph's Home Cook Bacon Potato Pancake with Poach Egg

Hadramawt Kitchen Wangsa Maju

Hadramawt Kitchen is a nearest Arab Restaurant close to my area and it also so famous right now. Their chef have a lot of different idea to mix with the middle east food. You can check it out from their facebook page. But today I'm no going to order their special menu, i just order some normal Middle East food. 

Grill Lamb Chop with garlic sauce. The lamb marinated with the Arab spices and grilled. Serve together with the Lebanese bread and the garlic sauce. It so tasty and i love it so much .

We also order the Chicken Hanith (Haneeth). It a bit look like Chicken mandy but the cooking way was different. This dish is a famous dish in Yemen Country. The rice which they serve together with the Chicken Haneeth is so nice and smell good. It will make you keep eating until you full. 

Hadramawt Kitchen Wangsa Maju

Address : Suite G8, 118, Jalan Wangsa Delima, Wangsa Maju, 53300 Wangsa Maju, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

Telephone :  03-4141 9841

Time : 11:00 am to 1:00 am

Christmas Tree Puff Pastry

Christmas Festival in the corner of course need to have some Christmas theme dessert at home. Before the Christmas day end, i bake a Christmas Tree Puff Pastry as tonight dessert. 

Let's see what ingredient have to prepared.

Ingredient :

- 2pcs Puff Pastry 

- Egg

- Nutella Chocolate

Instruction :

- Take 2 sheet puff pastry and use the roll pin roll to rectangular shape

- Cut 2 sheet into the tree shape like the above picture 1

- Take a sheet and spread the Nutella Chocolate across the sheet as above picture 2 , then take another

   sheet put on top of the spread nutella sheet

- Cut the line on both side of the sheet as picture 3 

- Twist 2 side as picture 4 

- Use the balance which cut of from the beginning and roll it as the square shape 

- Use the star shape cutter cut the shape.

- Put the star shape at the top as picture 6, then the Christmas tree shape pastry already done.

- Put the Christmas Tree Pastry into the preheat oven and bake 20 mins with 180 ͒

Steph's Home Cook Christmas Tree Puff Pastry 

Christmas Day Year 2017

This year Christmas i didn't go much place to take photo. In this Christmas eve i been to Pavilion KL to have movie and have fun there. Every festival Pavilion KL also have great decoration , for this year Christmas they also did a great job.

This festival really attracted a lot of people come and visit and there also have a lot of promotion and discount with purchases. Besides that, in certain time they also have a team of Santa Claus and Santarina do the performances. 

 Even in the main entrance the decorate also not inferior. It also very nice. 

This my Christmas day dress up..

Christmas present from someone special .

Tang Yuan - Winter Solstice Festival

Today is Chinese Winter Solstice Festival or call DongZhi Festival (冬至) . This is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice) on or around December 22. 

In different country there have different celebration and food preparation. In Malaysia Chinese, they most gather together with family praying and have meal together. In the meal Tang Yuan is the must have item in the list. 

Every home also will make the homemade Tang Yuan at home. Even the busy person they also will buy the frozen TangYuan and cook with the sweet soup. 

Chinese people said after eat the Sweet Tang Yuan, everything will be good, family will be happiness and age also grow up. 

This year i be my mum helper to make the TangYuan and also help for the arrangement for pray. 

There have a simple way to make the Tang Yuan and it just need few ingredient only. For the basic sweet soup they like to use the Pandan Ginger Soup. If for some modern people they like to use the Soya be the sweet soup.

Let's see what have to prepare.

Tang Yuan

- Glutinous rice flour

- Hot Water

- Coloring

- Red Bean Paste

Sweet Soup

- Pandan Leave

- Sugar

- Ginger

Instruction 

- Take 2 cup of Glutinous rice flour and slowly add in the hot water and let it become dough

- Start to knead the TangYuan Dough until it smooth.

- While the dough ready, divide it by 2.

- Add in the pink coloring into 1 dough and keep knead until the color fully mix with dough.

- Take some Red Bean paste and divide it in a small cube 

- Then you can start to make the shape you need.

- First i make the small round shape without filling 

- Second will add in the filling read bean paste and wrap over.

- Take a pot start to make the sweet soup, add in the pandan leave together boil the water and 

  following with ginger and the sugar. 

- Take another pot start to cook the Tang Yuan. I also take another big bowl put the normal water.

   When the TangYuan Float then can take out put in the big bowl which already have water.

  (This step will let the Tang Yuan more nice and more texture)

- After can add in all to the sweet soup pot cook together. 

I make two type of Tong Yuan, one have filling and one without filling. Basically the Tang Yuan only are round shape, but i also make it the flower shape and the foot-cat print.

Eday Christmas Party Year 2017

Already have 5 year my company didn't have the Christmas Party in the office. But this year we make it happened again. I remember last time every festival my company also have the decoration like during Chinese New Year, Hari Raya , Deepavali and Christmas. But since 5 years ago all this activities already been stop. 

This really thank you for our senior Manager and his team help to decorated the Christmas Theme decoration at the main door of office. It really beautiful and nice. Every suppliers or customer visit us also mentioned that and also will take some photo at that section. 

 All the presents prepared by each of us and the 2 week before , we already started to sourcing what kind of present suitable for gift  exchange and some more useful of the recipient.

Besides the decoration team, our's company also have internal cooker . Also have to thank you our's chef and his team prepared the food for us. Although is not western style menu, but all the food are delicious. 

From the picture , can notice that all the person really have fun and enjoy the party. When the exchange present time started, all of us are so exited to draw who's the lucky person we pick and what present will received. 

We really enjoy this year end party and some of us also sponsor the wine and have fun with the team. 

Long time we didn't have like this time. Hopefully the coming every festival we also have this kind of celebrate. It not only want to have fun, it also to let all the colleague more understand each others, close to each others and gather together. Just like a family. 

TongZhong Mini Sausage Bread

Previously the bread which I bake I’m using the crazy dough formula. Yesterday I watch the Youtube which published form Fruity Kitchen. The way she made the dough not so difficult and easy to understand.

In Fruity Kitchen Youtube, the recipe has to prepared 2 sections which is TongZhong (Roux) and dough. Sometime I watch from the Youtube, some of them will using TongZhong Roux, that time I also no idea why have to use it.

TongZhong Roux  is a flour and water roux that is added to yeast bread recipes. This is done in order to make aloaf of bread that is lighter, that has a tenderer crumb and a longer shelf life.

Let’s see what have to prepared

TongZhong Roux Ingredients  :

- 10g (1 1/2tbsp) Bread Flour (Also can use all multipurpose flour)

- 55ml water

Dough Ingredients :

- 25ml WramMilk

- 3g (1tsp) Yeast

- 15g (4tsp) Sugar

- 90g (12tbsp) Bread Flour (Also can use all multipurpose flour)

- 1tbsp egg

- 5g butter

Other Ingredients :

- Mini Sausages

- Egg (for egg wash )

Instruction :

Part 1 - TongZhong Roux

- Firstly we have to prepare the TongZhong Roux before we make the dough. Take a small pot add in 

  55ml water and the 10g Flour and mix it well

- Turn up low heat and warm up the TongZhong liquid and non stop stir until thickened.

- When be thickened then can set aside to cool. After can start to prepare the yeast.

Part 2 - Yeast

- Warm the milk and add in to the big bowl. 

- Add in 1tsp sugar and stir until dissolved into the milk .

- Add 1tsp yeast and keep stir until the yeast mix well with the milk. 

- Allow the yeast prove for 10 to 15 mins. (Then you can see there have some some bubbles in there)

 Part 3 - Dough

- While the yeast ready add in the TongZhong Roux and stir well.

- Add in 1tbsp egg in the mixture and mix it.

- Add in the balance of Sugar and keep stir.

- Add a pinch of salt and the 90g flour

- Use the spoon slowly mix all the mixture.

- Then can start knead with hand until forms dough.

- While the dough mix it well then can add in 5g butter can keep knead about 10 to 15 minutes.

- Cover with the wrapping plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour.

- After an hour, the dough should be double or bigger size than that. 

Part 4 - Make the Sausage bread

- Press dough to release the air.

- Divided the dough to 20 small ball

- Roll out each dough into ropes.

- Wrap around each mini sausage and repeat for all 

- Cover with the plastic wrapping and let rise for 30 min.

- After the sausage bread will rise double size and can egg wash it

- Put into the preheat oven bake 15 minutes  180 ͒ .

Chicken Salad

Those day i like to have Salad as my lunch. Last week i already make some Salmon Slice Salad, Shrimp Salad and Avocado Salad. Today let's make the Chicken Salad
What ingredient have to prepared :
- Chicken Breast
- 3 Glove garlic and fine chop
- some fresh Rosemary
- Salad vegetables
- Cherry Tomato
- Salt, Pepper

Salad Dressing
- pinch Salt, Pepper,
- 1/2 tsp lime Juice
- 1/2 tsp Balsamic vinegar

Instruction :
- Marinated the chicken breast with the salt and pepper
- Preheat the pan and put some olive oil , then add in the garlic
- Add in the chicken breast and also the Rosemary
- Put on the small fire slowly grill the chicken.
- Prepare the salad base like Salad vegetable, tomato
- While the chicken breast ready , use the kitchen towel paper absorb out the extra oil.
- Cut the chicken breast in slice and add in on top of the salad base.
- Seasoning with salt, pepper, olive oil, lime juice and balsamic vinegar.

Steph's Home Cook Chicken Salad 

Christmas Sausage Wreath

Potluck is a good way for the party. Everyone just prepare a somethings to bring it. This year Christmas party what should i prepared. From the beginning i was thinking prepare the roasted chicken, but already cooked by one of the member. 

Let's search some Christmas party food at the website. I found this Christmas Sausage Wreath is not hard to prepare and the time just within 25 minute.

Ingredient have to prepared :

- Kawan Pastry Puff Square

- Mini Cocktail Sausage

- Shredded cheese

- Egg

Instruction:

- Dived the square party in 4 with triangle shape 

- Roll it with the sausage and put on the round baking plate.

- Egg wash the topping and add the Shredded cheese on top of it.

- Put the in the preheat oven and bake 20 minute with 180 ͒

- After baked, you can put the wreath decoration in the middle as picture. 

Steph's Home Cook Christmas Sausage Wreath

Early Christmas Party

Christmas just around the corner, everyone start busy to shop the Christmas present or having the Christmas party. Of course every year i also had a Christmas party with my best buddy's. This year due to some issue, we didn't spend the party at outside.We make it at somebody house and have the potluck style. 

This whole food prepared by each person.Although is simple, but very nice.

Braised chicken wing and Sushi

Spaghetti and banana cookies

Christmas Sausage Wreath and Pizza 

Christmas Fruit platter and Shrimp & bacon Salad

Of course we not only the the potluck gathering , we also have the Christmas gift exchange.We also play back some last year picture to show who's take who's present. Some are complaint every year take the same person present. So we decide to let them pick the number first.

Rose Dumpling

Dumpling is a broad classification for a dish that consists of small pieces of dough and often wrapped around the filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour or potatoes, and filled with the meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits or sweets. Of course now also have the ready dough small sheet selling in the market.

There have many way to prepared the dumplings, most common like boiling, frying, steaming and of course also include baking and simmering.

At China Northerners part, dumplings are important food during the Chinses New Year. For Southern are dispensable. But in Malaysia you can anytime to have it and you have found different type of filling.

Today I make the rose dumpling as my breakfast. Let’s check what have to prepare.

Ingredients :

- 1 pack Dumpling skin sheet

- 100g Minced pork

- 1 pcs Black Fungus / cloud ear Fungus木耳

Marinated Ingredients :

- 1tsp Sesame oil

- 1tsp Soya Sauce

- ½ tsp white pepper

Instruction for filling : 

- Boil a hot water and submerge the Black Fungus let it double or triple size of it.

- Marinated the minced pork with sesame, soya sauce & white pepper.

Instruction for roll to the rose shape: 

- Take 3 sheet of dumpling skin and make it straight line as above

- Put the filling at the middle place

- Fold the dumpling skin in half

- Start roll it from right hand as above. 

 Rose Dumplings before cook

Instruction for cook: 

- Put some olive oil into the non stick pan and add in the rose dumplings

- Let the rose dumpling fried a minute. 

- Pour in 1/3 water for cook or until half of the rose dumpling and cook it about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Steph's Home Cook Rose Dumpling is ready . Add some coriander and eat with the vinegar soya sauce. It so perfect.