Steamed Milk With Egg Whites and Purple Sweet Potato

I have being using Purple Sweet Potato to try out a few recipes in this blog such as "Purple Sweet Potato Mantou - 紫番薯馒头", "Purple Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake" and "Assorted Sweet Potato Huat Kueh". These Purple Sweet Potato is richly nutritious as they are fat-free and low in calories, high in fiber and great for people who are carbohydrate sensitive and most importantly it is loaded with antioxidants.

In this post I am using some steamed purple sweet potato as the filling for the Steamed Milk With Egg Whites dessert. Normally you can find this Steamed Milk With Egg White custard at most of the Hong Kong Style Dessert Stalls which served without any fillings in it. But for my version I choose to add in some purple sweet potato to which has a very lovey purple colour that contrast well with the white milk custard.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
200ml Fresh Milk
2 Large Egg White, (60g egg)
2 Tablespoons Sugar
100g Steamed Purple Sweet Potato, cut into small cubes
4 - 6 Ready To Eat Ginkgo Nuts

Method:

1. Add milk in a microwave safe bowl, heat on HIGH powder for 60 - 90 seconds (depend on microwave voltage) till milk is warm. Add in sugar and stir till dissolved. Set aside

2. Gently beat the egg whites till a bit frosty. Sieved it over a fine sieve into the milk mixture.

3. Give it a few stir using a fork or chopstick to mix well.

4. Place 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of mashed purple sweet potato into each rice bowl (about 250 - 300ml) and use the back of a spoon gently press and spread out the sweet potato evenly in the bowl.

5. Next slowly sift the milk mixture into each bowl. Wrapped it with clear-wrap.

6. Steam over medium heat for 8 minutes, open the clear wrap, add in a few pieces of the reserve sweet potato cubes and ginkgo nuts and continue to steam on medium heat for another 1 - 1 1/2 minutes till slightly firm.

TIPS:

1. You can either steamed the sweet potato over medium heat on stove for 8 - 10 minutes; OR

2. Place sweet potato cubes in a microwave safe bowl together with 1 tablespoon of water and cook on HIGH for 3 - 4 minutes. Give it a quick stir every 1 minute to make sure that the sweet potato cubes are evenly cooked.

Steamed Milk With Egg Whites and Purple Sweet Potato

If you cannot get hold of purple sweet potato over at your side, you can always mix and match to replace the fillings with whatever you preferred. Here I have another sample using mashed pumpkin for the fillings or you can even add in cream corn like one of my friend, Joyce did.

STEAMED MILK WITH EGG WHITES AND MASHED PUMPKIN

Ingredients: (serve 1)
100ml Fresh Milk
1 Large Egg White, (60g egg)
1 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Mashed Pumpkin Paste

Garnish:
Some Wolfberries
Extra 1 1/2 Teaspoon of Mashed Pumpkin Paste

Method:

1. Add milk in a microwave safe bowl, heat on HIGH powder for 40 - 60 seconds (depend on microwave voltage) till milk is warm. Add in sugar and stir till dissolved. Set aside

2. Gently beat the egg whites till a bit frosty. Sieved it over a fine sieve into the milk mixture.

3. Give it a few stir using a fork or chopstick to mix well.

4. Place 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of mashed pumpkin into the rice bowl (about 250 - 300ml) and use the back of a spoon gently press and spread out the sweet potato evenly in the bowl.

5. Next slowly sift the milk mixture into each bowl. Wrapped it with clear-wrap.

6. Steam over medium heat for 8 minutes, open the clear wrap, add in a some mashed pumpkin paste, wolfberries and continue to steam on medium heat for another 1 - 1 1/2 minutes till slightly firm.


If you don't like to have any extra fillings, you can always make it PLAIN using just egg whites and fresh milk. And I am sure you will love that smooth and silky texture of the healthy quick and easy dessert. Do share with me your view if you do try out this recipe and what are some other fillings that you could add in.

Surprised to know about this Steamed Milk With Egg Whites and Purple Sweet Potato(Chinese version) being mentioned on 20th April 2011, MyPaper through one of the blog readers.

P/s: Another "Steamed Milk With Egg Whites and Mashed Pumpkin" recipe included plus mentioned of this recipe on 20th April 2011, MyPaper too.

Steamed Egg Cake (Ji Dan Gao) and Red Bean Soup

Steamed Egg Cake or also known as Ji Dan Gao (雞蛋糕) is one of the tradition steamed cake, which is commonly used for praying purpose during festive occasion such as Chinese Lunar New Year. I still remember vividly when I was a child, I used to help my mum using those old fashion handheld egg eater to beat 8 or 10 eggs together with sugar. Although the process was tiring but I always look forwards to enjoy my favourite teacake after the praying. And to me that was the most delicious homemade cake compared to those fancy varieties that we have nowadays.

So when I read the steamed egg cake post on Ju's blog, my heart was filled with joy and I immediately shares the post with my mum where it brings back a lot of our Kampong days memories. During the chat she still mentioned we used to beat the cake batter manually using hand beater for at least 20 minutes and while beating she would get ready the steamer over the charcoal stove.

Although there are many ways of making this traditional cake such as using leavening agent like baking powder or fizzy drinks like cream soda or 7-Up. But no matter which is your preference I am sure it will still brings out the old time flavour. (Here I am a bit upset that my cake did not "Smile" (open up) at the end of steaming process)


(adapted from Ju, TheLittleTeochew HERE)
Ingredients: (make 7" round cake)
4 Large Egg
210g Caster Sugar
230g Cake Flour, sifted 2 - 3 times
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
120ml Cream Soda

Tip:-
~ For my mum's version she added 1 tablespoon of freshly pound pandan juice instead of vanilla essence to enhance the fragrance of this steamed egg cake.

Method:-

1. Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl till frothy, add in sugar in 3 - 4 batches to ensure it is well incorporated.

2. Add vanilla essence and continue beating until the batter becomes very pale, thick and creamy. Meanwhile, heat up wok, pot or steamer until you get a gentle boil. (Do make sure the pot/steamer is large enough to fit the cake tin and has ample space for the batter to rise and steam to circulate.)

3. Fold in the sifted flour in thirds, alternating with the soda and ending with flour.

4. Pour the cake mixture into prepared baking tin or bamboo steam that is lined with greaseproof paper.

5. Pop it into the pot/steamer, cover and steam on high heat for about 30 minutes or when skewer insert and comes out clean.

6. Once done, remove the cake from tin, place it on a rack and allow to cool before cutting.

Red Bean Soup (红豆汤) is one of the popular dessert served during Chinese New Year, wedding and etc and you can easily grab a bowl or two at any local dessert stall range from S$0.70 to $2.20 each depending on the stalls and location. We love both the red and green bean soup so I usually would rotate these two dessert in our menu at least once or twice a month.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)

200g Red Bean
1.8 Litres of Water
1/2 Pieces of Candied Tangerine
A few Pieces of Pandan Leave, tied into knots
Cane Sugar to Taste

Method:-

1. Rinse the red beans with in a large bowl, remove any dirt or spoilt beans. Drain and set aside.

2. Bring 1.8 Litre of water to boil in a medium saucepan (I used my small Endo, thermal magic cooker), add in red beans and when the water comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pot from stove and place it into the magic cooker, cover and let the bean continue to cook through using the heat from the pot.

4. After 30 minutes, remove the pot and simmer it on low heat for another 10 minutes together with the candied tangerine and pandan leaves.

5. When done, place the pot back into the magic cooker, cover and let it cook for another 20 minutes till the beans became soften.

6. Remove the pandan leave and add in cane sugar/caster sugar to taste while simmer the pot on stove over low heat.

*7. If using normal pot, just simmer the red bean together with pandan leaves and candied tangerine for about 30 - 40 minutes till the bean soften before adding sugar to taste.


The inner pot of this magic cooker can be used on any stoves as well as on induction cookers which then helps to save time, gas or electricity and at the same time achieve perfect cooking too.

Here we have a very simple old school types of afternoon tea snack such as homecook Red Bean Soup served with slices of freshly Steamed Egg Cake. Love the nutty flavour from the red bean soup that pairs well with hint of tangerine fragrance from candied tangerine. There is another way which I love to eat my steamed egg cake is to dip it slowly in either Coffee or Milo. So what's your favourite way of eating these lovely steamed egg cake?

Tropical Ice-Block With Yoghurt

During hot summer afternoon, I am sure one or two of these ice-pops/ice-blocks would be great to ease the summer heat and at the same time cool down  your warm and perspired body system. These icy treat can be made by freezing coloured or flavoured liquid such as fruit juice around a stick. Once the liquid freezes solid, the stick can be used as a handle to hold the ice-pop too.

Apart from my "[Durian or Avocado] Sago Gula Melaka" (read more HERE) which fulfil this month Aspiring Bakers theme on "Fruit", I would also like to submit this "Tropical Ice-Block with Yoghurt" as the next following post. This fruity ice-block use 3 different types of tropical fruits such as Mango, Orange and Passionfruits which gives the dessert a nice bright orangy colour which resemble bright sunny day.

Since it is Mango season now, you can easily grab a couples of sweet and decent mango at any supermarkets with valuable price as low as 3 for S$2.00.

Ingredients: (makes 4 - 6, 1/4 cup capacity ice-block)
100ml Plain/Mango Yoghurt
1 Medium Mango, sliced and cubes
100ml(1/2 cup)Fresh Orange Juice
2 - 3 Medium Passionfruit, halved

Notes:-

~ You can get this 4 - 6 holes, 1/4 cup capacity ice-block mould from Daiso(Singapore readers).

~ Cut passionfruit in half, using a teaspoon, scoop passionfruit pulp from halves.

Method:-

1. Spoon 1 tablespoon yoghurt into each ice-block mould.

2. Freeze for 1 hour or until just firm.

3. Blend Mango and orange juice until smooth, stir in passionfruit pulp.

4. Carefully spoon/pour mango mixture pour yoghurt in moulds.

5. Place lids on moulds, freeze for 4 hours or until frozen.

6. To serve, stand the ice-blocks at room temperature for 1 - 2 minutes before removing it from mould.


  For a switch of different flavour, you can also make use of Pineapple, Mango and Passionfruits for this recipes to achieve a more refreshing taste. If fresh Mango is not available at your area, you can always replace it with pre-packed mango juice.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011) hosted by Jess @ Bakericious.

[Durian or Avocado] Sago Gula Melaka

This month's Aspiring Bakers theme is based on anything "Fruity" which I have read quite a number of wonderful entries from fellow bloggers on their fruity cakes and desserts. But as for myself I have being cracking my head for the past 2 weeks on what to do for this month event until I finally have something in mind.

Since this month theme is anything that is fruity, I decided to get some fresh fruits from the market where there are a lot longan, mango, passion fruit, oranges, strawberries and etc which are in seasons. And for my 1st submission I will be using two of my favourite fruits which are Durian and Avocado.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1.5 Litres of Water
3/4 Cup of Small Sago Pearls
A few Pandan Leaves, knotted
* Some Durian Pulp or 2 Ripe Avocado

Method:-

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. Lower the heat to medium and add in sago pearls and stir on and off to prevent it from sticking together.

2. Cook the sago pearls for about 8 minutes turn off heat, cover pot with lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

3. The sago wil become translucent when cooked.

4. Pour sago into a strainer and rinse under running water until pearls are loose and separated. Drain well.

5. Spoon sago into small moulds. Chill in fridge until sago sets.

6. To serve, turn sago out into individual serving bowl(s), place either durian pulp/avocado cubes on top of sago then spoon some coconut cream and gula melaka syrup over the sago.


This Nyonya dessert is best to be eaten with good quality of gula malaka and fresh coconut milk toppings which makes you crave for more. Here are some quick and simple steps to make the "Gula Melaka Syrup" and "Coconut Cream".

GULA MELAKA SYRUP

Ingredients:

150g Palm Sugar (Gula Melaka)
1/2 Cup (100ml) Water
A few Pandan Leaves, knotted

Method:-

1. In a small pot, combine gula Melaka with water and pandan leaves.

2. Simmer until sugar dissolved, mixture thickens and becomes syrupy.

3. Sieved away any residues, cool and pour it into sterilised glass jar and you can kept it in the fridge till further usage.

COCONUT CREAM

Ingredients:

1 Cup (200ml) Coconut Milk/Cream
A few Pandan Leaves, knotted
Pinch of Salt

Method:-

1. Put Coconut milk/cream together with pandan leaves in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Cook it on 70% (Medium High) for about 90 seconds, pause 30 seconds in between and quick it a quick stir till soft boil. (You may need another extra 30 seconds depending on your microwave power voltage.)


In Asia, most of us like this dessert to be served either in it's original way of sago with coconut milk and gula melaka or sometime even with luxury toppings such as D24 Durian pulp. And look at this Durian version I am sure for those who loves Durian you won't be able to resists having a cup or two especially with some good quality of gula melaka syrup that adds bonus point to it.


But as for those who dislike Durian or cannot afford to find any Durian in countries that you stay perhaps you would like to try this Avocado version by replacing the Durian Pulp with Avocado Cubes. I personally find Avocado goes well with gula melaka which I often blend 1 Avocado with 1 cup of fresh milk till smooth before stirring in 1 – 1.5 tablespoons of Gula Melaka syrup to sweeten the taste.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011) hosted by Jess @ Bakericious.

[Included Microwave Version] Pandan Ginger Milk Custard (薑汁撞奶)

Ginger Milk Custard (薑汁撞奶) is a lovely dessert especially for those who loves the fragrant and hint of spiciness from the ginger. For those who loves dessert or dim sum, you would have tried another similar version  known as Steamed Egg with Ginger Juice or Chinese Panna Cotta. But this ginger milk custard can be consider much more easier to prepare compared to the steamed version once you are familiar with the steps and controlling the heat of the milk used.

To start off with this dessert, you would need 3 main ingredients which are:- Full Cream Fresh Milk, Old Ginger Juice and Castor Sugar.

This is the 1st batch that I made on without adding the Pandan Leaves so it is fully ginger taste dessert.

Ingredients: (make 2 portions)

250ml Fresh Full Cream Milk
2 Tablespoons Fresh Old Ginger Juice
1 Tablespoon Sugar
4 Pandan Leaves, optional

Method:-

1. Rinse and remove the outer skin of the ginger, use a vegetable grater to grate the juice in a cup then sieved the mixture to extract the ginger juice.
2. Place 1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger juice in each ramekin/pudding cup.
3. Simmer milk and pandan leaves to rolling boil(less than 90 seconds, you will see small bubbles forming at the sides of the pot), remove pan from heat and add in sugar, swirl the pan for about 10 times to melt the sugar using the heat from the milk.
4. Next, lift the pan to a height of about 4 - 6" high and pour the warm milk into the prepared ramekin cups.
5. Place the cups aside for about 5 - 10 minutes to cool and set the custard.

Note:-

~ Mostly recipes yield for "Full Cream Milk" with at least 3.8% fat to achieve a firm texture for the custard but for this recipe I have also tried using low-fat milk which success with a smooth and silky texture too.

~ The ginger used must be OLD ginger which produce a "darker" yellow liquid after grating is the key ingredients of this dessert. YOUNG ginger juice won't make the custard set.

~ You can also prepared this using microwave method shown below.

These are my lovely Pandan Ginger Milk Custard after being set for about 5 minutes at the table top. The texture is so smooth that it just glide down your throat leaving a hint of ginger and pandan aroma in your mouth.

MICROWAVE VERSION

For a quick and hassle free method, you can do a few trial using your microwave for making this dessert depending on your microwave power. (For your information, my microwave power is 1100W)

Ingredients: (make 1 portions)

100ml Fresh Full Cream Milk
1 Tablespoons Fresh Old Ginger Juice
1.5 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Pandan Leaves, cut into 3" long pieces (optional)

This photo shows the Microwave version of Ginger Milk Custard where the texture look similar a compared to the stove cooking method.

Method:-

1. Rinse and remove the outer skin of the ginger, use a vegetable grater to grate the juice in a cup then sieved the mixture to extract the ginger juice.
2. Place 1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger juice in either a ramekin cup/small bowl.
3. Microwave milk and pandan leaves in a microwave safe cup/bowl for 50 seconds in a 25 seconds interval. (the timing will depend on your microwave power, but remember not to let the milk boiled)
4. When done, removed the cup and add in 1.5 teaspoon of caster sugar.(do not stir)
5. Using another cup/bowl, pour the milk mixture to and from the cups for about 10 - 12 rounds.(this is to cool down the heat from the milk)
6. Lift the cup to a height of about 4 - 6" high and pour the warm milk into the prepared ramekin cup/bowl.
7. Place the cup (covered with another plate) aside for about 5 - 8 minutes to cool and set the custard.

Eggless Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream

I have never thought of one day I could also churn up my very own Homemade Ice-cream even without using an ice-cream maker. In the past even though I have read up some really yummy ice-cream recipes, but yet still not a single one has lift up my motivation as I always thought it is a must to have an ice-cream maker before I could achieve those commercial like ice-cream texture.

I am sure most of us would like to have something sweet for after meal dessert or some frozen dessert to quench thirst during hot summer afternoon. No matter which is your choice I am sure either the refreshing Orange Sorbet or creamy Chocolate Ice-Cream will make some good rewards.

If you look at most of the ice-cream recipes, they usually called for "egg yolks" which are something that I always try to avoid while making dessert for my kid. But "Jess's" version( HERE) of recipe is definitely a keeper as it does not require any egg yolks in the ingredients. And to our surprised the end result taste just as rich and good as commerical ice-cream.

Ingredients (serves 4 - 6)

20g Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, sieved
90g Valrhona 70% Dark Chocolate
* 50g - 70g of Caster Sugar
1 Cup(200ml) Whipping Cream
125ml Fresh Milk
1 Tablespoon Kahlua / Tia Maria, optional

Note:

~ The amount of sugar added will depend on the type of chocolate used and your sweetness preference. (I used 50g for my 70% Dark Chocolate which can be purchased from either SunLik or Shermay Cooking School)

~ For creamy texture, you can replace whipping cream with thick cream.

~ To make chocolate sauce: Melt 30g Chocolate in microwave safe bowl on High Powder for 2 minutes with 30 second interval, stir the mixture between each interval to have a sauce like consistency.

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan combine cream, cocoa powder, sugar and whisk it over medium heat till combined and sugar melts.
2. Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring often, remove from heat and immediately whisk in chocolate until completely melted.
3. Next whisk in milk till mixture is glossy and well mixed before adding liquor if using.
4. Sieved the mixture through fine strainer into the loaf pan/tray, cool to room temperature.
5. Churn above mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions or alternatively, if you don't have an ice cream maker, freeze it for at least 2 hours or until firm.
6. Use a fork/spoon break out mixture and process it in blender (or whisk it using hand-held beater) for a few second till creamy. You might need to repeat the process at least twice if you prefer a smoother texture.
7. Return mixture to pan, freeze for another 3 hours or until firm. (I freeze it overnight)
8. Serve scoops of ice-cream with extra chocolate sauce and topping in cones or cups.


Are you ready for a scoop or two of this Homemade Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream.


Finally after a day of whisking, freezing and waiting..... here is our very first Homemade Chocolate Ice-cream. Each scoop is filled with rich and creamy texture that melts our heart with its semi-bittersweet chocolate taste.  And most importantly we get to choose the quality of ingredients used such as low fat milk/cream ad etc. So which is your choice? Cone or Cup?

For better presentation and finishing taste, you can drizzle some melt chocolate sauce(see notes above) together with your flavour chopped nuts or sprinkles topping on it. Enjoy!!! Have a great weekend everyone.





Eggless Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream

Orange Cinnamon Sorbet

It has being ages since my last post on Sorbet which was around May 2006 where Tracy shared with me her encounter on making "Mango Kaffir Lime Sorbet". (you can check out the recipe HERE) And from there I also modify a similar recipe to make some "Durian Sorbet" which my family loves.

To beat the recent heat craze and hot waves, let's take a step to prepare some really cold and refreshing dessert for the family to cool down the heat.........

But for this post I will be sharing the recipe on Orange Cinnamon Sorbet instead of Durian because now it is the peak season where you can get really huge and sweet oranges to make yummy dessert.

Some of us might tends to get confuse with Sorbet and Granita which somehow or rather look similar in a way. But if you notice carefully sorbet has a smoother texture and it is make with fresh fruit comparing to Granita, which has a coarser and crystalline texture that often makes from flavouring water and sugar.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

300ml Freshly Squeeze Orange Juice, about 3 1/2 Oranges
30ml Water
2cm Cinnamon Stick
*30 - 50g Caster Sugar
*Shredded Rind of 1 Orange
1/2 Orange, sliced into Segments

Note:-

~ The amount of sugar use will depend on the taste of the fresh orange juice and individual preference.
~ You can refer to the read-up on "How to shred and grate orange rind" at this link HERE.

Method:

1. In a small saucepan bring sugar, 30ml of water, cinnamon stick and shredded orange rind to boil over medium heat.
2. When the mixture comes to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 3 - 5 minutes by stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
3. Next remove the pan away from heat and leave the mixture to cool to room temperature.
4. Before mixing the orange juice with the sugar syrup till combined, remove the cooked orange rind and reserved it as garnish together with 1 teaspoon of sugar syrup in a small container.
5. Pour the orange juice mixture into a loaf pan, freeze for 3 hours or until firm.
6. Working quickly, use a metal spoon to break up sorbet and blend it until changed in colour and smooth.
7. Return mixture to pan, freeze it for another 2 hours or till firm.
8. Serve scoops of sorbet with some fresh orange segments and reserved candied orange peels.

Don't worry about whether this sorbet is being strongly infused with cinnamon taste. I can guarantee you that it’s only a very mild fragrant that act as a finishing touch to balance the citrus taste. But by all means if you just want a pure orange sorbet you can always omit the cinnamon stick.

ATTENTION!!! 

More Heat Cooler Coming Up!

For ice-cream lovers do look out for this space on the next upcoming recipe which I will  feature the "Eggless Homemade Dark Chocolate Ice Cream". If you are interested, do stay tune!!!!!




Orange Cinnamon Sorbet