Homemade Ice Cream : Strawberry Ice Cream

I was in the mood for buying fruits last week and when I saw the rows and rows of fresh fruit at the supermarket aisle, I could not resist myself, and bought 2 boxes of organic strawberries, 2 large mangoes and a box of organic golden kiwi .  But to my horror, I was so busy last week that I entirely forgot about them.  When I discovered them again on Thursday, some was turning mushy.  I threw away those mushy ones and macerated the remaining and decided to make ice cream with them.

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Those who know me, knows that I am not so great a fan on strawberry ice-cream, or in fact any that taste like strawberry milk.  I prefer the fresh clean taste of fresh strawberries.  But my daughter begged and begged and I decided to make ice cream instead of sorbet.  However, after it was made and I tasted it the second day, I realised it did not taste so bad as store bought strawberry ice-cream, in fact the chips of strawberries made it rather refreshing and so I just went on spoon after spoon on the scoop of ice cream which I insisted my husband taste for me.

The ice cream below was made over the period of 2 days.  3 days infact as I left it overnight on the second day for the churned ice cream to harden till store bought texture and my daughter was asking over and over and over again when she can have it.  So you do need a little bit of planning if you intend to make this ice cream.

[Recipe Adapted from Making Artisan Gelato by Torrance Kopfer]
Ingredients:

 Strawberries Puree:
~400 g of strawberries
1 1/2 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Strawberry Add in:
~200g of strawberries
3 tbsp of sugar

Ice Cream Base:
400 ml of fresh cream
350 ml of milk
120 g of castor sugar
2 egg yolks




Method:

First Day:

1.  Making the Strawberry puree.  Hull the strawberries for making strawberry puree.  Cut them in halve. Add in sugar and lemon juice and toss well.  Store them in refrigerator in an air tight container overnight.  Puree the strawberry the next day (discard the juice that has been drawn out) in a blender till smooth.

2. Macerate the strawberry add-ins.  Hull the strawberries.  Cut into small bite size.  Add in the suger, toss well and store them in another air-tight container overnight.

2nd Day:

3.  On the second day. Heat the milk about 100 ml of the cream in the saucepan, together with the 1/2 the sugar on a stovetop over low flame.  Stir constantly till the sugar has dissolved.  When the milk has just bubbled, remove from stove top.

4.  In a large bowl, break in the 2 large egg yolks, and remaining sugar.  Whisk till the mixture foams and lighten.

5.  Temper the eggs by slowly ladelling the 1/2 the amount of warm milk into the whisked eggs while whisking at the same time.  Pour this mixture back into the warm milk saucepan.

6.  Return the mixture back onto the stove at low flame.  Heat the mixture while constantly stirring with a wooden spatula and scrapping the bottom of the pan till the mixture thickens and start coating the back of the spatular.  Then remove the pot from the flame.

7.  In a large bowl place ice, salt and water.  Put another smaller mixing bowl (but must be able to still accommodate and mix) into the ice mixture.  Pour the remaining cream into the mixing bowl and the cooked custard in (6) into the mixing bowl.  Whisk till the mixture is well mixed and cooled down.  Put the mixture into the refrigerator for at least about 4 hours.

8.  Churn the mixture in 7 in the ice cream maker .  When ready, transfer the ice cream into a plastic tub, stir in the strawberry mix-ins and freeze till storebought hardness.

Cheong Fan with a Japanese Twist （日式肠粉）

The favourite breakfast for my daughter, Danielle, must the Chee Cheong Fun (Steamed Rice Roll).  The Chee Cheong Fun must have originated from the Cantonese, as one can surely find them in any restaurants or shops selling Dim Sum (点心).

The cheong fun served in Singapore at the normal shops that sells breakfast are usually simpler in style than those served in the dim sum restaurants (which contains stuffings of shrimp or char siew - a sweet roast pork).  These cheong fun are usually steamed and cut into pieces, drizzled with a little fried shallot oil and sweet sauce (and chilli sauce if required) and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  When I was younger, each rice roll was only 30 cents and I would only need about amost 1 1/2 to fill my stomach (my elder brother would always be glad to finish the rest for me).  But the price has slowly crept up over the years, and how each roll can cost as much as $1.00 at some shops.

I have since stop buying from these shops mainly because of two reasons:
(1)  rice rolls are easily available at most of the beancurd stalls at wet markets from $2.20 to $2.60 for a packet of 10 rolls.
(2)  My daughter and son actually do not like sweet sauce, so they usually have their cheong fun with a drizzle of sesame oil and light soya sauce.
So I usually prefer to buy my own and steam it in the morning for them as breakfast. 

Recently, I found that I had a bottle of Japanese Goma sauce (sesame dip) which I left over from my last steamboat meal.  (I like to dip it with sliced beef).  Somehow, I decided to add it my cheong fun....and boy did I really like it.  My kids still like theirs plain and cannot appreciate the Goma sauce, but my husband loves it as well.  You should really try it the next time you have your cheong fun. 

Recipe:

1 bottle of Goma Sauce

Light soya sauce

Sesame oil

2 rolls of rice rolls (cheong fun) - This is for each person.  This can be bought at most beancurd stalls.  For those living abroad, they are readily available at stalls carrying Asian or Vietnamese food.

Sesame seed (toasted in a frying pan till fragrant but not charred)

Method:

1.  Steam the rice rolls over a wok of water for about 10 min to warm it up.

2.  Transfer the rice rolls to a serving plate.  Cut the rice rolls with a scissors into bite size length or quarters.  (I like mine quartered, my daughter likes hers bitesize.)

3.  Drizzle sesame oil over.  Then drizzle light soya sauce to taste.  Finally drizzle in the Goma Sauce over.

4.  Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seed.  (As much as you like!)  And it is ready for serving.

This is especially an easy breakfast, I usually steam the rice rolls while brushing my teeth and assemble them after that.

Preserved Vegetables with Duck (梅菜鸭)

This is another comfort dish for me. Coming from a family that was not extremely rich, my mother would think of innovative ways to cook leftovers so that they would not go to waste. During festivities, we would often have a whole duck, either roasted or braised. However, as there was a significant portion of the duck that was bony, there would often be leftovers of pieces of duck with lots of bones and little meat attached to it. One of the favourite dishes that my mum would cook for us the next day would be the preserved vegetable with the leftover duck. Usually, she would do a large enough portion that it can be eaten over three days, as the taste is usually best after the second day.


Now, although I am better to do, I still cook this dish whenever we have roast duck when we eat out. I would request for whatever is left, if there is any, to be packed back for me to make the dish the next day. Though not very nutritious, I found that the preserved vegetables fibrous and would often encourage bowel movements the next day.

The secret to the complexity in taste for the dish which my mother swears by is to use a mixture of both the salted and sweet preserved mixture. This is a great dish with steaming rice and also Teochew porridge, though it is more a Hakka dish.

Recipe:

1 portion of leftovers from 1 roast or braised duck (usually comes up to about ¼ or a duck)

300 g of salted preserved vegetable (咸梅菜)

300 g of sweet preserved vegetable (甜梅菜)

1 whole clove of garlic (about 8 segments)

1 tbsp of (sunflower) cooking oil

2 tbsp of dark soya sauce

1 pinch of sea salt (optional)

1 tbsp of sugar

water

Method:

Wash the preserved vegetables well especially between the stems at the ends close to the roots to remove the excess salt and grime. Soak the bundles of preserved vegetables in water and change the water a few times in a large basin, till the water becomes clear.

Drain the water from the soaked preserved vegetables. Squeeze the excess water with your hands. Cut the vegetables into bite size (approx. 0.5 cm in length).  Discard the ends which are more fibrous and difficult to cut through.  Place the cut vegetables in a strainer to wash over running water. Squeeze the excess water from the cut preserved vegetables and set aside.

Flatten the segments of garlic with the back of a cleaver. Remove excess skin that comes off if necessary.

There is little to prepare for the duck, just pick out the smaller pieces of bone if there are any.

Heat the wok with the oil and stir fry the garlic till fragrant.

Add in the roasted duck into the wok mix well.

Add in the cut preserved vegetables and mix well. Drizzle in the dark soya sauce and sprinkle in a pinch of sea salt. Also add about 1 tbsp of sugar in. Mix well.

Add water into the mixture till it covers about ¾ of depth of the mixture. Mix well and let it boil, then lower the flame.

Cover the wok and let the mixture cook about 30 min over low flame. Alternatively, you can transfer the mixture to a slow cooker to let it cook for at least 4 hours.

Serve on a serving dish when the dish is ready. The dish can be eaten over three days. Just remember to heat the mixture every night and also heat it up before every meal. (The mixture should be heated till it is bubbly hot and maintained at that for at least 3 minutes.)

Note:  You can do the same dish, if you have leftover roast or braised pork.  Or if you simply have craving for the dish, which I occasionally do, I just use belly pork cut to about 1/2 inch thick to substitute the leftover pork or duck.

Robinson's Card Members Sale (19th August 2010 - 22nd August)

 

Just received the Robinson's mailer for the latest sale.  Two interesting gadgets I would like for my kitchen if I already did not have it. 

I already own a Saeco Odeo Go and have no complaints and in fact I really love it!

But this is so cute!  And as with Saeco Go, it is fully automatic and suitable for the family.  I saw this model last year on the web, but it was not available in Singapore yet, so I could not wait.  This one is more aesthetically appealing and still has the functionality and quality as all typical Saeco machines.  It is originally retailing for SGD$1000 +  but if you are a card member, it now only cost SGD$788, definitely a steal.....

Oh it is only available at Centrepoint Robinsons.

Second is the Cuisinart Hand held blender with chopper attachment.  I think that is going for SGD $138 for cardmembers.  This is a little expensive, but a hand held blender is usful when you want to make good thick soups, or for baby food when they are weaning.

Food Inc : What on Earth are We Really Eating...

Knowing my passion for documentaries and food, my husband brought home the "Food inc." for me to watch. After watching this, it really sets me thinking. In our bid to make food readily available for the masses, we have ended up not only being able to feed the masses but also make the general population more obese.

At least, in Australia and US, people are aware of the problem. In Singapore, where we still have an older generation which is not very educated, people are often not even aware of the problem. We in fact readily jump to buy food that that "corn-fed" thinking that they are the healthier options. In reality, corn-fed cows are the ones with the most problems. We import much of our food source from other countries, and to feed our population of 6 million, we source our food from "efficient" farms over the world. In reality, are our food really safe? If we also look our own lifestyles and how we are eating and spending, are we overspending, overeating what is necessary? Look at the food on the store shelves of the supermarket, turn over the read the labels carefully, how many of the ingredients do we really recognise.

This is really a compelling movie / documentary to watch, it really gives us better insights to what is happening to the food industry around the world.

You can get the full documentary in Youtube, just google for it. The videos of Part I, II and III from youtube can also be viewed below.

Ice Cream Maker is Finally Here!

After much consideration, I finally got my Cuisinart Icecream Maker.....going to the supermarket to get the ingredients to try out new ice cream!  Will stick to basics...but can't wait to make my favourite matcha and sesame ice cream.

Now is to go to Amazon to get a few receipe books on ice cream as well.



I am so happy......

Home-style Chilli Crab

Chilli Crab

While waiting for Daniel to finish his piano lesson, we went walking around at the supermarket when we found that the mud crabs were on sale for SGD$6.88 for two pieces.  Since I also had some left over chilli when I last made hainanese chicken rice, we decided to get 6 crabs to make chilli crabs.  Below is my version of the chilli crab which both my family and I enjoy.

Homestyle Chilli Crab

Serving Size : 6

4 - 6 mud crabs 
3 -4 tbsp of home-made garlic-ginger-chilli mix
1 thumbsize knob of ginger
1 bowl of ketchup
½ tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of dark soya sauce
1 tsp of sugar (optional)
1-2 eggs
Water
Sunflower cooking oil


Method:

Slaughter and clean the crabs. Cut them into smaller pieces and crack the pincers of the crab with a mallet for ease of eating later.













Chop the ginger up finely. There is already ginger in the chilli mix, but I prefer to also have chopped ginger, as well as it provides for different textures in taste.











Heat the wok, drizzle in a little sunflower cooking oil and stir fry the chopped ginger and chilli mix till fragrant.













Add in the crabs and sea salt and mix well.















Pour water till the heating mixture above till it half covers the crabs, add in the ketchup, dark soya sauce, and sugar and mix well. Cover the wok and let it simmer till the crabs are cooked and the shells have turned red.


Remove the crab pieces till the serving plate while keeping the sauce simmering in the wok.



In a small bowl crack the eggs and beat them with a chopstick. Drizzle the egg mixture in the simmering sauce, wait for a second or two before mixing it.











Drizzle the crab with the sauce and serve it with rice. The crabs also go nice with baguette or steamed or fried buns (mantou).






Home-made garlic-ginger-chilli mix :
8-10 stalks of Fresh Red Chillies
8-15 stalks of fresh small thai red chillies (optional as this increases the spiciness, you can substitute with the same amount of the fresh red chillies)
Sufficient garlic to make up half the amount of chilli
Young ginger, sufficient amount for about same amount of chilli
Put all the ingredients in the chopper and chop finely. If using for hainanese chicken rice chilli dip, you can scoop about 1-2 tsp into a saucer, squeeze lime and put a dizzle of light soya sauce over in the sauce, mix well and serve. Leftovers can be freezed (preferably using ice cube makers) and used later. I usually keep the chilli not more than 6 months in the freezer.
 

*Note:

The quality of the mud crabs vary with respect to the mating season. But on the whole, in choosing mud crabs, you should get the active ones. Turn the mud crab over and press on the underside, the crab shell should be hard and not yield to pressure. Most of the mud crabs sold at the supermarkets are the male ones, if you like the roe of the female ones, then you need to buy the mud crabs from stalls specializing in crabs from the wet markets in Singapore. The mud crabs should also be slaughtered just before cooking as the meat deteoriates very quickly after it is killed. One trick that my family always does in easing the killing of the crabs is to put the crab into the freezer about 30 min before the slaughter, this will help to immobilize the crabs a little. But you still need to be very careful when slaughtering the crabs as they will regain consciousness very quickly.