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.

Blueberry Bread Pudding

Those nights I like to have dessert during the night time. Oh my god, it will make me gain a lot of weight.

But after have a dessert, will let you feel better and release all you stress.

I believe bread pudding is one of the choice most the ladies know how to made it.

Let’s see what ingredient you have to prepare, for me I just pick a simple recipe. (Save cost little bit)

Just nice is my fridge still has the blueberry fruit, so I’ll add in together.

(You can add in whatever fruits you like, the taste will more nice)

Ingredient :

- Bread ( Any kind of bread)

- Milk

- Egg

- Sugar

- Blueberry 

Instruction :

- Cut the bread in piece. 

- Mix the egg, milk and some sugar.

- Add the mixture into the bread and let it adsorb a while.

- Add in the blueberry fruit

- Put it in the preheat over bake around 18 to 20 min with 180 ͒

Steph's Home Cook Blueberry Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is so easy to made and the ingredient also easy to find in your kitchen. It also can help you finished your bread before expired. 

There a simple ingredient you have to prepare.

- White Bread ( you can use any kind of bread)

- Milk 

- Egg

- Sugar

- Raisin

Instruction :

- Cut the bread in piece. 

- Mix the egg, milk and some sugar.

- Add the mixture into the bread and let it adsorb a while.

- Add in the raisin or some nut or fruit you like as well 

- Put it in the preheat over bake around 18 to 20 min with 180 ͒

Crème Brulee

Crème Brulee is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel. It is normal served at room temperature. The custard base is traditionally with vanilla, but can have a variety of others flavorings.  

The ingredient has to prepare as following:

- 180 ml Milk

- 1 pcs egg

- 2 tsp sugar

Instruction:

- Heat the milk with the sugar until simmer and leave the fire.

- Crack the egg and mix it, then add it into the milk and mix it well.

- Pour the milk to the small bake ware and cover it with aluminum foil or food wrap.

- Put the bake ware in the pan and pour in hot water and use lower fire cook 25min.

- Take it out and leave it until the surface be cold.

- Add it some brown sugar on top and use the kitchen flamer heat on it.

(If your homes don’t have kitchen flamer you also can heat up a table spoon, being careful to protect your hand from a handle that could get hot. Place the heated spoon over the sugared top of custard and listen for the sizzle, smell the caramel and watch burnt sugar being made, then the same effect like using kitchen flamer)

Klencha

Klecha may be considered the national cookie or Iraq. It comes in several traditional shapes and fillings. The most popular are the ones filled with dates.

I also heard a story from my friend, during the Ramadhan time, some family make it for their family members who is the soldiers and stay at Barracks during that time. It considers a wish to them and let them know their family misses them.

The traditional way to make it, we have to prepared the cookies dough. But I watch at the Youtube, there have to easy and fast to make it.

Ingredient:

- Puff Pastry  

- Dates

- Brown Sugar

- Almond nut

- Egg

Instruction

- Remove the seed from dates

- Apply the dates filling in the puff pastry and shape it whatever shape you like.

- Eggs wash it and put some brown sugar or almond nut on top of the puff pastry

- Put it in the preheat oven bake 30 min with 180 ͒

Apple Pie Toast

During a boring night, feel want to have some dessert to make a night more sweetness.

In the kitchen only leave over some white bread and apple. If there have puff pastry sure i'll make the apple pie. But this 2 ingredient still can bake a sweet toast. 

Ingredient :

- 2 pcs White Bread

- 1 pcs Apple slice it

- Cinnamon powder

- Butter

- Cheese Cube (Optional. If you have cheese cream you make put as well , it will be more tasty )

Instruction:

- Preheat the over with 180 ͒

- Slice the apple and put a side. 

- Take our 1 white bread and cut a square in the center ( leave around 1cm)

- Apply the cheese cube on another bread. 

- Joint to bread together, after nicely arrange the apple slice into square . 

- Put some sugar and cinnamon powder on top of the apple slice, then bake it with 180 ͒  

  20 to 25 min.

Steph's Home Cook  Apple Pie Toast

Strawberry Puff Pastry

The simple dessert which i always baked is Strawberry Puff Pastry  It really simple and fast.

- Preheat the oven, then take a pastry base and shape it to vol-au-vents. 

- After paste the strawberry filling in the center and egg brush on the pastry. 

- Put in the oven bake 30 to 35 min with 180 ͒ .

- Meanwhile cut some strawberry for decorate purpose. 

- After baked , take it out and decorate , then can be serve. 

Steph's Home Cook Strawberry Puff Pastry