Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Japanese-style cheesecake relies upon the emulsification of cornstarch and eggs to make a smooth appearance. The texture is light, fragrant and not as greasy as the usual western baked cheesecake.

Although this recipe require a little bit more steps on the preparation but it is really worth the effort when you taste the end result. I really cannot re-called where I have taken this original recipe from, but after sharing it with one of my friend, she gave me another modify version of hers which use exactly 205g cream cheese. So upon seeing what her wonderful cheesecake, it makes me even wants to give this recipe a try.

The process of making these Japanese Cotton Cheesecake is not really that difficult. All you need to do is to follow the steps closely and you will sure to get the right texture and colour. (click on the picture for larger view)

Ingredients: (8" Round tin)
250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
140ml Fresh Milk
55g Unsalted Butter
30g Cake Flour
20g Cornflour
4 Egg Whites
4 Egg Yolks
1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Grated Rinds of 1 Lemon
95g Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Method:
1. Dice cream cheese into cubes and soak with milk (place mixture in a glass mixing bowl or double boiler) for about 30 minutes.
2. While waiting, melt the butter and set aside.
3. Put the cream cheese mixture in a double boiler(refer to the picture above), stir until smooth and creamy then stir in the melted butter and set aside to cool.
4. After the mixture cools down, stir in the flour mixture(sieved the cornflour and cake flour together) then follow by one egg yolk at a time, whisk the mixture till well combined.
5. Next stir in the lemon juice and rind and whisk the mixture till smooth then set aside.
6. In another clean bowl, add cream of tartar into egg white and whisk until foamy.
7. Divide the sugar into 3 portion and whisk into the egg white mixture until it becomes stiff peak form.(refer to the picture above for the egg white texture, this takes about less then 5 minutes or so)
8. Slowly blend the egg whites into the cream cheese batter and mix well until colour combines.
9. Place the mixture in a greased prepared tin and give it a big bang to released the bubbles.
10. Bake the cake in hot water bath at 170 degree for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 150 degree and bake for another 40 - 45 minutes.
11. Cool the cake in the pan completely, then set aside in the fridge for about 1 hour or more before serving it for a better texture and taste.

Notes:
~ Water bath is a pan of hot water placed into an oven. The hot water provides a constant, steady heat source and ensures even, slow cooking for recipes.

~ The best type of pan to use for a water bath is a roasting pan or other pan with sides at least 1-1/2 to 2 inches high. That will allow you to put enough water into the pan so it won't all evaporate before your pudding or cheesecake has baked.


I used to love Fiesta Cheesecake (which is now come under Ichiban Sushi Restaurant) that comes in 3 different flavour like original, coffee and can't remember the last one....... So with that soft and irresistible texture of Fiesta Cheesecake, I decided to give this recipe a try and after all those effort and steps. My final products do pay off with a good, soft and cotton like texture cheesecake.

Soup Restaurant

Soup Restaurant, the unique Chinatown Heritage Cuisine has been preserved for your palate. Their special dishes like Samsui Ginger Chicken, other steamed dishes and herbal soups are prepared in the traditional way.

This is the 1st time I tried their "Teochew Olives Rice" which is prepared by preserved black olives mixes with plain rice. And also black olive is known to stimulate appetite and aids in the process of slimming. Take a closer look at their Olives Rice, each grain is separately nicely and suprisingly it is not that oily as what I have thought of. The texture of the rice is great and it's very different from the usual Thai Olive Fried Rice.

Soup Restaurant "Samsui Ginger Chicken" is steamed-cooked for a pre-determined duration and temperature, thus maintaining its rich chicken aroma and taste. The chicken is served with their special Ginger & Sesame dipping sauce other than the usual Hainanese Chicken Rice chilli sauce that you use to have.

The art of consuming "Samsui Ginger Chicken" is by dipping the chicken into ginger sauce and wrapping them with fresh lettuce. It taste really refreshing and non greasy too.

Come and catch up with their S$1.00 Lunch Treat promotion which is for limited period only. Upon ordering their signature Samsui Ginger Chicken or set menu any day during lunch hour to enjoy any one of the 6 popular dishes at ONLY S$1.00.

With the S$1 Lunch Treat offer, we order this Tofu Prawn. Although the egg gravy is made with simple ingredients like egg, tomato & chilli sauce. It taste so aroma and robust because they use only the freshest prawns. The sauce really goes well with white rice or bun some fried mantou if they do provide.

As you see we didn't order any of their signature soup for today because we are too fully with all the above dishes. But I would like to recommend their "Double Boiled Waisan & Ginseng Roots with Chicken Soup" and "Double Boiled Lingzhi with Lean Pork" which is I find worth of cent to try.

SAKAE - Eat & Blog Event

Isn't it wonderful when you can enjoy your favourite food and at the same time blog about it and stands a chance to win a voucher for your next dine-in. And furthermore, you might also be selected as their Sakae E-journalist which will entitled you to a SAKAECard wtih TOP UP of $30 per month.

Recently I have just received my Sakae Complimentary Voucher for my July Dine-in Post on Sakae(Aug 09) dine-in and blog. And good new is I am also being selected to be one of their E-journalist of eat and blog for 6 months. So don't hestiate, come and join the Sakae Monthly Blog Affair (click on the link for more details)that enable you to eat and blog at the sametime.

American Ginseng Chicken Soup

American ginseng is not a stimulating herb. As a cooling herb it will take a period of time to build up the body before you will "feel" a difference.

Due to the hectic work schedule, tiredness of our mind and body as well as the "heaty" weather recently, I decided to set on this American Ginseng Chicken Soup to revive our strength. Other than the American Ginseng Roots, I also add in some Yu Zhu which is Cool in nature. It influences the lung and stomach channels thus nourishes Yin, prevents internal dryness, extinguishes wind and softens the sinews. It is also commonly used to treat irritability, thirst, intense hunger, sensation of heat in the bones, and cramped and hard muscles.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 Chicken Drumstick, skin removed
5g of American Ginseng, root portion
4 - 6 Red Dates, removed seeds
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries
5g Yu Zhu(玉竹)
800ml Water

Method:
1. Wash, trim and clean the drumstick then blanched in boiling water for a few minutes, rinse and set aside.
2. Rinse the dry herbs then bring the water to boil in a pot and add in the all the herbs except wolfberries.
3. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes before adding the drumstick then continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from heat and transfer the content to a double-boiler shown in the picture below.
5. Place the double-boiler in a slow-cooker and cook on AUTO heat for about 3 hours. Add in the wolfberries at the very last 30 minutes.
6. You can season it with pinch of salt before serving or so.

As you can reference through the picture, this is a very easy to prepared homemade double-boiled soup which mostly suitable for everyone in the family. You can also replace the Ginseng Root with either Whole Ginseng or Ginseng Slices for different varieties of soup.

Related Post:
1. Double-Boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup
2. Ginseng Black Chicken Soup
3. Ginseng Honey Tea