HOMEMADE MEATLESS TOFU (STEAMED THEN FRIED OR BAKED)

I am not a fan of Tau Kwa, but I love TOFUUUU! This is an easy dish to make, but it can be quite time consuming. I used to fry after steaming the delicate pieces, but by the time I finished, I would be so hungry! And to turn it into a healthier dish, I decided to bake them instead. 

OK, OK, I confess.... baking is way much faster as I do not have to wait so long!

I do not use fish paste for this dish although I believe with the paste it will taste better. As a not-very-rich-homemaker, I try to find substitutes to save on costs. In order to make the tofu firmer, I add potato flour instead. I used a mixture of pressed tofu and silken tofu in my first attempt, but found it too soft although manageable. I prefer to use only pressed tofu later on.

HOMEMADE MEATLESS TOFU

Ingredients

2 x 360g Japanese Pressed Tofu (板豆腐）

1 large onion, diced

5 stalks scallions, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, deseeded, diced

1 medium carrot, grated, juice squeezed out

2 eggs, beaten

4 tbsp potato flour

Seasonings  (by estimation, adjust to own preference)

1 tsp chicken stock powder or 1/3 cubed chicken stock

3 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

For frying:

Corn Flour for coating and oil for frying

For baking:

Beaten egg for first coat

Bread crumbs for second coat + 1 tbsp oil stirred into bread crumbs

Methods

1. Prepare a wok/steamer with boiling water for steaming. Line a 13x7 rectangle pan with non-stick baking paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, place all vegetables into bowl. Drain tofu of water and place into mixing bowl.

3. Add beaten egg and seasonings into bowl. Using your hands, mash tofu and mix everything evenly.

4. Add potato flour. (You may give a little taste to see if seasonings require adjustment)

5. Pour mixture on to prepared pan, level top and steam for 20 minutes.

6. Be careful when lifting lid to avoid water from dripping onto tofu. You may use kitchen towel to gently dap away moisture.

7. Carefully lift the sides of baking paper to transfer steamed tofu on cooling rack. Cool completely.

8. Transfer tofu by sliding baking paper onto chopping board. Using a sharp knife, slice into bite sizes.

9a. If you wish to fry it, carefully coat each piece with corn flour and fry till golden brown. Soak excess oil with kitchen towel before placing in serving plate.

9b. If you wish to bake it, preheat oven at 200C. Carefully dip each piece into beaten egg and coat with bread crumbs. Place on baking tray and bake for about 20 min.

DARK CHOCOLATE MOIST MUFFIN

This recipe is a MUST-keeper and definitely my favourite! Chanced upon it on Bear Naked Food blog and decided to try it one night when I had chocolate craving after lesson. Oh! This really tasted so very good! Even my old folks gave me thumbs up, and my hubby who always stayed neutral about my bakes said this was really good. Of course getting good quality chocolate would made a great difference, but Little Mouse needed to be thrifty. I could not spend a lot of money to buy Valrhona on muffins for own stomach, my lovely hubby would have his eyes popped out!

I tried this chocolate couverture in Phoon Huat which I thought was value for money. It costs about a fourth of its Valrhona cousin and tasted better than the other chocolates that I previously bought from the bakery. I would strongly recommend dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa content to balance out the sweetness of the muffin. Hence Bakeway Chocolate 73.5%  is good enough for me.

Believe me, this recipe is worth a try. It is super easy, and almost fool-proof (unless you do do not follow the recipe). It took me less than 45min from prep to finish. I would be making these for parties and I know my guests would simply find them irresistible! And I would not need to worry about melting frostings!

DARK CHOCOLATE MOIST MUFFIN (adapted from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

160g dark chocolate couverture droplets, at least 70% cocoa content

Wet Ingredients

120g unsalted butter, melted

240ml buttermilk (I used 1 tbsp vinegar and fill up to 240ml mark with full cream milk, set aside for 5 min)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (okay, I used 1 tbsp!)

Dry Ingredients

170g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

70g unsweetened cocoa powder

190g castor sugar

1/2 tsp salt

More dark chocolate couverture droplets for toppings (Optional)

Methods

1. Preheat oven at 170C, line muffin tray with liners.

2. Beat eggs and add all wet ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

3. Sift flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar and salt into another bowl.

4. Stir in 160g dark chocolate droplets into dry ingredients.

5. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir just to combine, do not overmix.

6. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tray till 70-80% full. Tap muffin tray on counter top once to release any air bubbles. You may top with additional chocolate droplets for visual enhancement (optional).

7. Bake at 170C for about 18-20 minutes. Do not over-bake or the cakes will turn out dry.

8. Remove baked muffins from tray to cool completely on wire rack.

Makes about 18 muffins (or 12 muffins plus a small loaf*)

*If you are baking in a loaf tin, baking time varies. My small loaf required 30mins bake time.

moist cake from loaf

SWEET AND SOUR PINEAPPLE

The Little Mouse family had decided to embark on a one month meatless or meat-less program, initiated by my boys. You should imagine my "horror" look because except for my mother-in-law, we were quite the carnivorous type. But I agreed that going for more vegetables would be a healthy lifestyle, it was just that I never expected my kids to make this request. The boys were intrigued after I shared with them a diet called Daniel's Plan based on biblical character, Daniel, who ate only fresh vegetables during his "recruitment period" in Babylon. The Bible recorded in Daniel 1:15  that "at the end of 10 days it was seen that (Daniel was) better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food."

Alright, this was our first week of meatless meals, so I had to create something other than blanched vegetables and eggs. Pineapples seemed good.

SWEET AND SOUR PINEAPPLE

Ingredients

1 can pineapple with syrup

 1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp grated ginger

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp plum sauce

Method

1. Drain pineapples, set syrup aside. Cut pineapples into small cubes. 

2. In a wok, heat oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry for about 10 seconds.

3. Add in grated ginger and fry till fragrant.

4. Add in pineapple cubes. Fry for about one minute.

5. Add in some syrup to bring to boil. Pour in raisins

6. Add sugar and salt and plum sauce, bring to boil.

7. Garnish with sliced chilli and coriander leaves.

THAI PAPAYA SALAD INSPIRED CABBAGE SALAD

It had been quite warm recently. We needed something refreshing for our meals. Since my little men were requesting for meat-free meals, I wanted to do something special. I pranced upon this idea of Thai papaya salad, but instead of young papaya, I used cabbage instead. The traditional way of preparing papaya salad was to use pestle and motar. Well, I only had a small stone version in my kitchen, and if I were to pound everything, it would take forever. So there was very little pounding for this. The results? Cool and refreshing!

As this dish was to feed my entire family, young and old, it was not feasible to make it too hot on the tongue. Of course if I had it my way, I would add chilli padi (Yumz!!!), but that would be cruel to the rest of the clan. So I had to make adjustments here and there, and came up with this cold dish. I was quite pleased =)

THAI PAPAYA SALAD INSPIRED CABBAGE SALAD

Ingredients

1/4 cabbage, sliced thinly

1 carrot, grated

4 long beans

1 red chilli, de-seeded, sliced thinly

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp chopped shallots

1 red tomato, de-seeded, cut into thin wedges

3/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp fish sauce

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Juice of 6  - 8 calamansi + some zest from 2 -3 calamansi

Toppings

Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Method

1. In a pot with boiling water, gently blanch long beans for about 10-15 seconds. Drain and cut into 2-cm strips.

2. Using pestle and motar, pound garlic and shallots.

3. Place sliced cabbages into a big salad or mixing bowl. Crush the cabbages with your hands to destroy the fibrous structure.

4. Place all the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Adjust taste according to your preference.

5. Garnish with roasted peanuts and coriander leaves.

There you have it!

ZUCCHINI AND TOASTED STRAWBERRY BUTTER CAKE

Okay, I think I need to eat some vegetables, but I am craving for a cake. I do have some zucchinis at home and a few strawberries left in the fridge....hmmmm..... *ding! ding!* Let's be creative and make a cake with them!

Ermmm, how should I want the texture of the cake to be? I want a soft, not so dense cake, not like chiffon or sponge which are too soft. Okay, a soft butter cake base then.

The whole cake turns out to be quite good, actually. A bit more work, but it is worth the effort. Try it!

ZUCCHINI AND TOASTED STRAWBERRY BUTTER CAKE

Ingredients

About 5 strawberries, diced

3 Zucchinis

250g butter, salted, softened

180g caster sugar

150g cake flour

90g plain flour

3g baking powder

5 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla essence

40ml evaporated milk + 10ml water

Method

1. Dice strawberries, place on baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake at 80C for about 2 hours. If your oven can go to 60C, please do so for about 3.5hrs. The fruits should be dry enough, need not to be completely dehydrated. You should get about 1/3 cup of toasted strawberry. Set aside to cool.

2. Shred zucchinis and place in a colander. I let the peel to remain for visual effect. Sprinkle with salt to draw out moisture. Leave it for about 30 min, then rinse under running water thoroughly to remove salt. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. You should get almost 1 cup.

3. Preheat oven at 180C. Grease 7" round pan using butter wrapper.

4. Combine softened butter with sugar. With electric beater on high speed, cream till light and fluffy, until sugar is dissolved or finer.You will need to scrape down the batter a few times to ensure even creaming.

5. Sift cake flour, plain flour and baking powder onto a plate. Set aside.

6. Crack an egg into the batter. Scoop 1 -2 tbsp flour mixture from step 5 into batter along with the egg. This is to prevent curdling. At low speed, beat till egg is fully incorporated.

7. Repeat step 6 until all eggs are used.

8. Scrape down the batter. Add vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until fully combined.

9. Pour in remaining half of flour mixture into batter. At low speed, beat batter for about 20 seconds.

10. Pour in evaporated milk mixture into batter. At low speed, beat batter for about 20 seconds.

11. Now, pour in all remaining flour. At low speed, beat batter for about 20 seconds.

12. Scrape down batter and beat again on medium speed for about 20 seconds.

13. Spread almost-dry zucchini shreds and toasted strawberry dices onto batter. Fold in gently and evenly.

14.  Pour batter onto prepared pan and bake for about 50 min, or until skewer comes out clean when poked in centre.

15. Remove pan from oven, leave cake to cool in pan for 5 min. Then remove cake from pan and cool completely on cooling rack.

SWEET POTATOES AND BROCCOLI CAKE

Ever heard of such a cake? Due to recent haze, my appetite seems to be screaming for vegetables. After the zucchini and strawberry butter cake, this is my next creation. My mother in law is a sweet potato person, so I think she will like this one. The cake is steam-baked for that extra moist, but please do not keep it for too long to consume. It is best eaten within two days.

This cake is made with real ingredients, no chemicals like baking powder or baking soda involved. It is a healthier version cake, and as with my taste-bud, I do not like to make it too sweet either. So if you are looking for healthier choice of cake, you may want to consider this. 

SWEET POTATOES AND BROCCOLI CAKE

Ingredients

100g steamed sweet potatoes, mashed till fine

50g steamed sweet potatoes, diced (more of less is fine, for visual only)

50g broccoli florets (use only green parts, more of less is fine)

6 egg whites

60g caster sugar

6 egg yolks

60g caster sugar

80ml canola oil

120ml water

130g cake flour

20g corn flour

Methods

1. Preheat oven at 150C. Boil water and place in a roasting pan. Place roasting pan into oven at the lowest rack. Line 8" square pan with baking paper, set aside.

2. In a clean and dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites till foamy. Add sugar by tablespoons while beating whites at low speed until the whites become stiff and glossy. Set aside.

3. In another mixing bowl, put in egg yolks and sugar. Beat on high speed until the yolks are fluffy and thick.

4. Pour oil and water into yolk mixture. Beat till combine. Mix in mashed sweet potatoes evenly.

5. Mix cake flour and corn flour and sift into batter. Fold in flour gently.

Tip: Coat diced sweet potatoes with flour as you sift the flour mixture

6. Take 1/3 of egg whites to gently fold into yolk batter. Then pour the mixed batter into egg whites and gently fold in to combine.The batter should be light and airy.

7. Gently place flour coated sweet potato dices and broccoli florets evenly at the edges of of batter to prevent sinking and causing air to deflate in batter. Very gently fold in the vegetables.

8. Pour batter into square pan. Give a few taps to burst big air bubbles in batter. Place at middle rack of oven and bake for 40min. Turn down temperature to 120C for the next 10 minutes.

9. Once cake is done, remove cake from pan, invert cake and cool completely on cooling rack.

BEER ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH VEGETABLES

Roasted pork belly is our family favourite. I saw a show on TV many years ago how a chef used a home oven to cook a simple but yummy pork belly with crispy skin. Of course we must try the method and it was fabulous! You can make it on its own using only three other ingredients, but today I would make a soupy version using beer. 

The reason I use beer is because it tenderises the meaty part due to its carbonated nature. If you are concerned about alcohol, you can replace with stock or soda water.

First and foremost, the pork belly should be selected carefully so that the flavour would turn out balanced. There should not be too many fat layers, and the slab should be quite even. You could add spices such as five-spiced powder or grounded cinnamon or other flavouring to your preference. Dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary and tarragon are also very good.

BASIC ROASTED PORK BELLY

Ingredients

(basic ingredients for roasted pork belly)

1.8kg approx. pork belly

4 tbsp salt * and more for sprinkle

2 tbsp ground pepper

Juice from half a lemon

3 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)

(other ingredients to make up this dish)

330ml beer

1 cup water

2 potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, cubed

1 large onion, sliced

1 bulb garlic

2 sticks celery, cut into strips

Seasonings

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp powdered chicken stock

Dash of salt and pepper

(* Please note that I use low-sodium salt in my pantry, hence the amount of salt is used. If you are using normal table salt, you may reduce the amount by one tablespoon. Bear in mind that most of the salt should be rubbed on the skin itself.)

Method

1. Wash pork belly. Using a sharp tool (I used an ice picker) poke many, many holes on the surface of skin. Make sure you poke deep enough through the first layer of fats, but not touching the meat part.

2. Prepare a baking dish, line with grease proof paper for easy cleaning.

3. Use paper towels to dry the whole pork belly. Rub pork skin with most of the salt. Turn over and rub the rest of the meat with remaining salt, pepper and oyster sauce, if using (or along with other spices or herbs). Turn over again and spread some of the pepper and oyster sauce on skin surface. Squeeze lemon juice on it too. Place pork onto prepared baking dish. (If you only want to roast pork belly, you may place a rack under pork belly to raise up the slab)

4. Use some bamboo skewers to poke through under the skin layer. This ensures pork stays in an even shape. 

5. Place a piece of paper towel over pork belly, cover with cling wrap and chill in fridge for a few hours or overnight. (Some people may recommend uncovered pork in fridge to help dry the surface, but I do not think it is a good idea for home fridges since cross-contamination may take place.)

 6. Remove pork from fridge and let it sit till room temperature. 

7. Preheat oven at 180C. Before placing pork into oven, dab dry  skin surface. Sprinkle some more salt. (You may now place the tray in oven if you only want to roast pork belly).

8. Carefully pour beer and water around pork belly. Arrange all the vegetables and seasonings into baking dish. Bake at top-middle rack level of oven for 60 -80 min approx or until pork is tender.

9. Switch oven to high grill mode for about 5 min. You should watch closely now to avoid charring. At this point, the skin bursts into small bubbles to achieve crispy crackling.

10. Remove bamboo sticks, slice meat and serve immediately.

NO KNEAD NATURAL YEAST BASIC RYE BREAD

I was blessed with a big packet of rye flour, and wanted to make something nice from it, but I kept delaying. Until one day, another good friend blessed me with her robust lemon yeast starter, I could not wait any longer! 

Made my own natural yeast using 1:1 ratio (50g yeast starter : 50g bread flour) which required about 3 - 4 days to yield the amount of yeast I wanted. The natural yeast needed to be placed at a cool dry place (not in fridge if you intend to use it straight away) and fed once in the morning and once in the night. A healthy natural yeast would double after each feed a few hours later. I would not screw the lid of jar but tie a piece of paper towel with poked holes for the yeast to breathe.

healthy natural yeast doubles and has lots of bubbles

If you run out of yeast starter, replace with filtered water, but for more assurance, I would add a teaspoon of honey.

NO KNEAD NATURAL YEAST BASIC RYE BREAD

Ingredients

300g rye flour

150g natural yeast

3g salt

200ml filtered water, approx 

some canola oil

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre of the rye flour. Pour in natural yeast and mix well. Next stir in salt. 

2. Add in half amount of water and mix well. Slowly add more water until you get your desired consistency. (The dough will only get messier, not cleaner). 

3. Drop into a lined tin and spread the dough. Lightly coat the top with some oil. Cover the top with a cling wrap and place in a warm place for about 2 - 3 hours, until the dough almost doubled.

4. Preheat oven at 200C and let oven heat for the next 20 minutes. Remove cling wrap and place tine in oven. Lightly spray some water on top of dough. Bake for about 30 minutes.

5. Remove bread from tin and cool completely on cooling rack.

after proofing for about 2.5hrs

100% natural yeast rye bread

SOUFFLE PANCAKE

My eldest sister-in-law is a sweet lady, who dines out in nice restaurants for both work and social pleasures. She said I must try this dessert called souffle pancake in town. I like pancakes, and I have a recipe which I love (I cut out from newspaper a few years ago). Not heard of souffle pancake, let alone tasted any. But I do know that souffle means meringue being folded into batter, so I thought I could create my own. I imagined that it would be like eating a pancake-shaped cloud =) =)

I started to scout for a cooking pan that could be used over cook stove and in oven. As my oven was a counter-top oven, I did not think it could withstand the weight of a cast-iron skillet. It would also be a costly kitchen investment since a reasonable cast-iron pot or pan would cost a few hundred dollars. So it took me a while to hunt and I finally found one that BARELY sat in my oven, costing me just under S$30! I was quite happy!

Thank you, IKEA! I love you! Muacks!!

Pan sits just nicely in oven!

After deciding what I wanted to put into the pancake batter and topping, I rolled up my sleeves and gave a try. I made two versions. Version A had more flour, less egg, stronger butter aroma and crisp edge. Version B had more eggs, less flour, cloud-like texture and more challenging to transfer to plate. I thought as the pancake was supposed to be souffle, Version B should be closer to the requirement. 

Pictures posted here are pancakes from Version A because I had no time to take pictures when attempting Version B. However the steps are the same.

SOUFFLE PANCAKE (Little Mouse's own version)

Elements to prepare first:

Caramel Drizzle

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp milk powder

1/2 cup full cream milk

Pinch of salt

1. Over low heat, melt sugar and water. When it caramelizes (push as far as you can to have a deeper caramel but not burnt)  add milk powder and stir evenly. Slowly pour milk (be careful! Hot! Hot!) and stir at the same time. Add in salt. Turn of heat to cool. (If it gets too sticky, add more milk to dilute a little) 

I aim to obtain a slightly bittersweet caramel to balance the whole dessert.

Whipped Cream

200g cold thickened cream

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp liquor (or vanilla extract)

1. Using a blender, blend everything till cream stiffens. Chill in fridge.

a fool-proof way to get cream whipped everytime

Pancake
3 eggs, separated
95g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
15g melted butter
50g milk
1 tbsp liquor (or vanilla extract)
60g plain flour
30g melted butter, extra

Toppings (washed and pat dry)
Sliced strawberries
Blueberries

1. Using a hand whisk, whisk egg yolks till slightly thickened and cream sugar till light.

2. Add in salt, 15g melted butter, milk and liquor. Whisk well.

3. Add in flour and combine well.

4. In another clean and dry bowl, using an electric beater, beat egg whites till stiff.

5. Gently fold in meringue into batter in 2 batches. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
 

gently fold in meringue using hand whisk

after folding in of meringue

6. Prepare a 24cm pan. I would suggest to line the base with grease-proof paper for easier transfer later on. Pour the extra 30g melted butter onto pan over low-medium heat.

7. When pan is warm, pour batter into pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Do not stir or flip the pancake. As the batter slightly firms up, gently place sliced strawberries and blueberries on top.

8. In a preheated oven at 180C, switch oven mode to top grill. Place pan in middle rack and grill for about a few minutes. Watch closely as the batter might burn.

9. Once the batter turns slightly brown on the edge, switch oven mode to bake and turn the temperature to 160C. Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until top is springy to touch and sides leave pan slightly.

Done!

10. Carefully transfer pancake to a serving plate. Top with more fruits, whipped cream and caramel drizzle.

11. Serve immediately.

Sorry for the bad picture, everyone could not wait and started digging in!