Ham & Cheese Chiffon Cake

This weekend task we experiment with Chiffon cake recipe again, but this time we tried making a savoury one instead of the usual sweet chiffon cake. I have read a Cheesy Chiffon Cake recipe from Kitchen Corner and it really draws my attention as I love anything that comes with melted cheese in it. Grace, who is the owner of Kitchen Corner has a wide collection of Chiffon Cake recipes that you might want to check it up if you are keen in trying different version of chiffon cakes.

Dual Fungus Sweet Soup

I have being coughing badly for the past one week which I think might be due to the bad weather or the amount of Durian that I consume during the previous week. So since my lady boss gave me a few packets of freeze dried black fungus. I decided to make this Dual Fungus Sweet Soup for this weekend.

As you can see from the photos, other than the dual fungus, I also added in some Ginkgo nuts, red dates, wolfberries and candidate tangerine which makes it a good and smoothing dessert for cough or cool down the body system from hot weather.

White Fungus(雪耳): tastes slightly sweet and of neutral nature. It benefits the spleen, strengthens the stomach and expel Dryness. It calms the spirit, treats insomnia and is good for the body type that resists beneficial food.

Black Fungus(黑木耳): has a reputation in Chinese herbal medicine for increasing the fluidity of the blood and improving circulation.

Ginkgo nuts(白果): are usually sold dried, or shelled and canned in brine. It is traditional Chinese food that nourishes lung energy and calms wheezing.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
10g Dried White Fungus
5g Dried Black Fungus
20 Fresh Ginkgo Nuts
8 Big Seedless Red Date, cut into halves
1 Tablespoon Wolfberries
1 Candied Tangerine, cut into halves
1 Litre of Water
Some Pandan Leaves
Rock Sugar to taste

Method:
1. Rinse and soaked the two type of fungus separately into two bowls of water till soft. Rinse well to remove any dirt, drained and set aside.
2. Bring the water to boil in a big pot then add in the drained fungus, red dates, ginkgo nut, candied tangerine and pandan leaves and simmer till it boils again.
3. Remove from heat, then transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook on auto for about 3 - 4 hrs, depend on the softness of the fungus to your liking. ( I let it cook for about 5 hrs because I like the fungus to be soft and the texture of the soup to be a bit sticky)
4. Add in the wolfberries during the last 1 hours of cooking time.
5. Sweeten it with rock sugar in the last 15 minutes in order to let the sugar melt completed and blend well with the fungus.

Notes:
a) I used the ration of 2: 1 white black to black fungus in portion.
b) I used those vacuum seal packed ginkgo nuts from supermarket.
c) According to my lady boss she told me that her Chinese Physician told her that it's best to consume this dessert early in the morning before breakfast or before noon time. Avoid taking this at night as it might cause clot in the blood vessels.

Bento #28 - Reyon & Buddy

It had being quiet a while since our last bento because Reyon is having a few weeks of mid year school holiday and I am kind of caught up at work so I don't have much time working around with those fancy stuffs. But Shoppingmum's website is a must to visit daily site due to cute and innovative bento for her two kids.

I love her latest design by using this dual cheese strips to cut out various cute figures. You can click on the link to have a better explanation on how she made the stripe cheese. Today our theme is base on my dear son and his favour pooh teddy bear. I use the face cutter and assorted mini food cutter for these design. I used the compartment divider to cut the shape out from the chocolate bun so that it will fix nicely. Next I place the cheese cut outs on top of it and serve the bento with some orange slices and mangosteen. Lastly Rey still use the Alphabets pasta to arrange his name on it.

Claypot Drunken Chicken

I have tried cooking a few kind of claypot chicken recipes and each one of it has it's own taste and speciality. Today this Claypot Drunken Chicken that I am going to share consists of Chicken pieces, mushroom, black fungs, wine and Egg. This can be serve as a one-pot dish meal which is full of nutritious source. We love the thick and creamy gravy which is great to be serve with steam rice.

Since this is called Drunken Chicken, it is bound to have some wine content. So if you are to share this dish with younger kid at home, you can either omit the wine content or reduce the amount used. This recipe call for Kampong Chicken which the meat is much sweeter and cooked resistance for stewing purposes.

Ingredients:
1/2 Portion of Kampong Chicken
10g Shredded Ginger
10g of Soaked Black Fungus
4 Medium Chinese Mushroom, soaked, cut into quarters
1 Egg
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into section
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tablesppon Wolfberries
100ml Rice Wine
400 - 500ml Water
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch Solution

Method:
1. Wash and clean the chicken then cut into pieces then set aside for use.
2. Preheat the sesame oil in the claypot then saute the shredded ginger till fragrant then add in the chicken pieces and half of the spring onion sections then continue to fry for another 1 minutes.
3. Next stir in the oyster sauce to the chicken mixture till combined then add in the mushroom and black fungus.
4. Give them a quick stir then pour in the water and let the mixture simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes until chicken is well cooked.
5. Lastly, add in the rice wine and balance of the spring onion and wolfberries and bring it to boil then stir in the cornstarch solution to thick the sauce.
6. Remove the pot from heat and crack the egg in the middle, cover for 1 minute then serve with steam white rice.

Note:
a) You can replace the Kampong Chicken with 2 Large Drumstick with tight portion.
b) You can replace rice wine with Japanese Mirin or Sake but reduce the amount to 60ml.
c) You can add 1 tablespoon spoon water to 1/2 teaspoon of cornflour to make the cornstarch solution.


Related Post:
1) Claypot Chicken With Salted Fish
2) Claypot Minced Pork Rice
3) More Claypot Dish Link