Bunny Pineapple Tarts

Chinese New Year is just about 3 weeks or less from now and most of my social network friends from facebook and twitter have already started their Chinese New Year Bakes with Pineapple Tarts, Kueh Bangkit, Peanut Cookies, Kueh Lapis and etc since early this week. For me every year I would definitely baked our family favourite pineapple tarts which I would giveaway to some relatives and close friends.

Since this coming Chinese New Year would be the year of "RABBIT", I decided to make some special "BUNNY" theme pineapple tarts to suit this year Chinese Horoscopes theme. If you have followed this blog for long, you would have remember about my last year "Tiger" theme tarts for the year of "TIGER" too (you could read more HERE).

This year I have made two different types of "Bunny" shape tarts which comes in either "Open" or "Closed" tart version. For the "closed tart", I have wrapped the pineapple fillings with a thin layer of dough skin and pressed it into a bunny mould to achieve the shape shown above.

For this pastry recipe, I have adapted another version from one of my favourite blogsite know as The Little Teochew which some of you might have read most of her posts before. 

Ingredients:

(adapted mainly from The Little Teochew)
400g Plain Flour
50g Corn flour
1/4 (heaped) Teaspoon Salt
280g Cold, Unsalted Butter (do not allow it to soften)
3 Egg Yolks, beaten
3 Tablespoons Cold Water (or iced water)
5 Tablespoons Icing Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Cognac
For glaze:
1 egg yolk + 1 Tablespoon water, beaten

Getting the tarts ready by gazing and topping it with pineapple fillings before sending them into the oven.

Method:

1. Refer to the original recipe from Little Teochew for the steps on making the pastry HERE.
2. When the dough is done divide it into smaller portions(example 3 portions) and place each portion in a plastic bag and slightly flatten it before chilling in the fridge for about 10 minutes or so.
3. While working with the pastry, you can use 1 portion at time and keeps the remaining in the fridge to prevent the pastry from oozing oil due to the warm temperature.
4. Roll the pastry to your desired thickness and cut out dough using bunny or normal traditioanl pineapple cutter.
5. Arrange cutouts neatly onto baking tray with some spacing apart.
6. Once the tray has filled up with tart shells, glaze them with beaten egg yolk mixture and placed the pre-rolled pineapple jam balls onto each tart shell.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees for about 20 minutes. Rest baked tarts on tray for about 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.


From the enquiries of some readers, these are the two mould that I used for making the Bunny Pineapple Tarts. For the open tart bunny, you could get any bunny design cookie cutters from baking stores or even Daiso. But as for the closed tart version, you have to get this bunny design egg mould which I got it from one of the online Bento spree years back.

As for the pineapple paste, you could either prepared your own using fresh and good grade pineapples together with sugar, some spieces and cooked it over low heat till it turns into a thick golden colour paste. Or in order to save time you could always get those ready made paste from local supermarket too. Here are some suggestions shared by our fanpage readers on the choice of "Butter" and "Pineapple Fillings" for your reference.

Finally after spending a few hours in the kitchen doing all the rolling, cutting, egg washing and etc. Here are our Chinese New Year Bunny Pineapple Tarts for the year of Rabbit. And I hope this new creation of mine would give you some ideas on what to bake as gifts or treats for the coming New Year to impressive your guests. And also I am submitting this post to "Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favourite CNY Cookie! (January 2011)", hosted by Jess of j3ss kitch3n at this link HERE.


Lastly perhaps if you like this post, do help by leaving a comment(s) on which "Bunny" do you prefer? Closed or Open version? For us my boy prefers the open-tart bunny where he describe the pineapple fillings symbolised as a bag of GOLD on the bunny's tummy :)

Red Cabbage Salad with Filet of Duck Breast

Talking about "Philips" brand I am sure most of you would automatically relates it to their popular electrical appliances such as Television, Hi-Fi System, Household Products and etc. Recently, Philips launched a new on-line recipe resource known as "MyKitchen" (www.philips.com.sg/kitchen), and it has since been receiving popular reviews in the local media because it has a wide variety of recipes catering to all palates including the Asian delights. For example you could find recipes range from Korea, Japan India, Asian and etc that suits your family and guests.

Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, perhaps you would be keen to take a peep at their MyKitchen website for more recipe ideas to impress your guests with restaurant like cuisines. Here I would share with you FOUR different cuisine which I find it interesting and easy to prepare with. First we shall have :-

Red Cabbage Salad with Filet of Duck Breast

Preparation Time: 20 minutes + 30 minutes to marinade

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

400g Red Cabbage
2 - 3 Tablespoons Raspberry Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Walnut Oil
1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Filet of Tame Duck Breast (300-400 g)

Method:

1. Heat 1.5 l water to 100°C in your Philips kettle. Remove the hard core from the cabbage and finely shred the red cabbage (in a food processor or with a grater).
2. Put the shredded cabbage in a colander and pour on the boiling water. Drain well.
3. Next beat the vinegar and walnut oil in a bowl with the thyme, salt and pepper to taste to make a dressing. Mix in the warm, red cabbage and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
4.Cut a diamond pattern into the skin side of the duck breast every 1 cm. Lay the duck breast skin side-down in a frying pan and fry on a high heat for 6-8 minutes until crisp and brown (no extra fat is needed, this melts from the skin).
5. Turn the duck breast over and fry the other side until nice and brown. The meat may be rare (rosé) on the inside. Let the duck rest briefly.
6. Meanwhile scoop the red cabbage salad onto 2 plates. Slice the duck into thin slices and arrange these on the red cabbage salad. Tasty with brown bread or roast potatoes.


With such a quick and easy to follow recipe you could easily whipped up restaurant standarad of food in less than an hour. So do pop-by MyKitchen at www.philips.com.sg/kitchen for more ideas to pamper your family today.

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup - 参鸡汤

Ginseng Chicken Soup(参鸡汤) or Samgyetang in Korea translation is a traditional soup served in the summer to replace nutrients lost through excessive sweating and physical exertion during the hot summers in Korea. And the main ingredients of this soup is using whole young chicken, glutinous rice, Korean ginseng, red dates, garlic, ginseng and perhaps some herbs like wolfberries and dang gui.

  But here I am sharing with you another light and simple version using only whole chicken, ginseng, glutinous rice and red dates which is good enough to produce a pot of delicious and nutritious ginseng chicken soup.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)

1 Medium Size Chicken, about 1 – 1.2kg
¼ Cup of Glutinous Rice
4 – 5 Soup Ginseng Roots
4 – 6 Red Dates
1.2 Litre of Boiling Water
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, sliced
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method:

1. Soak 1/4 cup of sweet rice for 1 hour.

2. Wash and rinse your chicken in cold running water, trim the extra fats, emptied and cleaned the cavity, removed the head, neck and feet.

3. Bring a big pot of water to boil, blanched the whole clean chicken in boiling water for about 3 – 5 minutes. (flipped at least once)

4. Removed and rinse over cold running water for 20 seconds and set aside.

5. Next stuff the chicken with the soaked glutinous rice, 2 – 3 ginseng root and half of the red dates then place the chicken in the empty soup pot. (I used a big claypot for this)

6. Slowly add in boiling water on the side of the chicken till it cover almost ¾ or more more of the chicken and let soup comes to bring over medium heat.

7. When the soup starts boiling, skim off any foam and fat that rises to the surface. Add in the rest of the Ginseng Root and red dates, low the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. (I simmer mine for about 1½ hours on very low heat)

8. Serve it with salt, freshly ground pepper and chopped spring onion.

Note:-

~ Depending on the size of the chicken you might even need to simmer the soup for more than an hour in order for the chicken to cooked through.

~ If you do not have any Korean Ginseng, you could always used any soup ginseng root that can be easily purchased from any Chinese Medical Shop. I bought mine from ZTP at around S$6.00 for 5 stalks of dried ginseng.

This is what we have for dinner after 1.5 hours of simmering over very hot heat on the stove. The minute you opened the cover the room would be filled with the fragrant aroma of the ginseng and each mouthful of soup is infuse with the sweet flavour that is disperse from the ingredients used. Do give this a try during cold and rainy days and it will definitely makes a great dish.

Poached Prawns in Young Coconut Juice

Prawns are very versatile ingredients that could be used in different way of cooking methods such as deep-fried, steamed, grilled and etc. In Singapore the common way of eating live prawns would be steaming it with minced garlic or poached in cooking wine or herbs. But In Vietnam culinary this Poached Prawns in Coconut Juice (Tom Hap Nuoc Dua) is one of their common way of cooking live prawn which you could easily find in their ordering menu.

In Vietnam they usually used live river prawns for this dish and it is steamed in young coconut juice which is very simple and easy to be prepared.  And by soaking the prawns into the coconut juice it would also increases the sweet and delicious flavour of the dish. But for this recipe I trying using frozen prawns instead of fresh live prawns and it taste just as good as it is too.

Ingredients: (Serves 2 - 3)

1 Young Coconut
10 - 12 Medium Prawns

Dipping Sauces:
1 - 2 Small Red/Green Chilies, sliced
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fresh Thai Lime Juice
1/2 Tablespoon of Drinking Water

Method:

1. Mix all the dipping sauce ingredients together and set aside for use.


These are some of the collage photos of the ingredients and preparation steps for this dish.

Method:
1. Slowly cut and remove the lid of the young coconut and pour the juice into a small saucepan. Set aside.
2. Next use a spoon carefully scrap down the flesh from the side of the shell and leave the flesh in it.
3. Bring the pot of coconut juice to boil on low heat while trimming get ready the prawns for cooking.
4. When the coconut juice comes to boil, add  in half of the prawns and let it simmer on medium heat for about 2 minutes or so till the prawns are cooked through.
5. Removed prawns on plate and repeat the 2nd batch of prawns.
6. After all the prawns are done, pour the coconut juice back into the shell and place the cooked prawns hanging around the top of the shell. (refer to the photo above)
7. Served immediately with dipping sauce.


With Chinese New Year around the corner and the increasing of seafood prices during pre-festive season perhaps you can consider getting a box of this new CP Frozen Raw Head-On Shell-On Shrimp. It is packed using only the fresh and superior quality of live shrimps that are flash-frozen to a temperature lower than -18 degree for safety consuming.
Retail Price: S$6.95 per box (about 20 - 25 Size L Prawns)


Even though I used frozen prawns for this recipe but surprisingly the end-result still turns out well too. The prawns are crunchy when bites and the sweetness and aroma of the young coconut juice definitely brings up the taste of this dish. Just to share in  Vietnam culture they only dipped the prawns in the coconut juice without drinking the soup but for me I think the juice itself is rather fragrant and with that extra sweetness from the cooked prawns. I think perhaps by adding some cooked rice vermicelli this could turn out to be a great one dish meal too.

Hong Kong Sun Kee Vs Dessert Story

Recently with a few newly renovated shopping malls and the new launched of NEX and Bedok Point around matured HDB area it seems that you can easily spot one or two Asian dessert stall in any of the malls. For instant the new "Hong Kong Sun Kee Dessert" has already set their foot on NEX and Bedok Point to capture the hearts of the patrons with their unique Desserts and Wanton Noodles.

HONG KONG SUN KEE DESSERT - 香港生记

  Upon Opening Promotion Sun Kee is having a great S$2.00 deal for the well-known "Mango Pomelo Sago - 杨枝甘露" dessert at their NEX and Bedok Point outlets. So if you are a fan of Mango Pomelo you must not missed out their special promotion that is valid for both dine-in and take away in these two specify outlets.

Since last week we are at the newly open Bedok Point we decided to drop by Sun Kee and try out some of their desserts which I have read some good feedback on. The first dessert to serve is "Lemongrass Jelly with Mango and Black Pearls - 柠檬草王子". The lemongrass jelly is very smooth till can  be wobble down your throat leaving a light lemongrass scent. In the bowl you could also find generous amount of chewy black pearl and fresh mango cubes that makes different texture and taste.
Price: S$3.80 per bowl

I am sure most of you have eaten black glutinous rice with coconut milk (Pulut Hitam) which is a common dessert found in Singapore. But this "Black Glutinous Rice Ball on Coconut Milk and Mango Puree - 芒椰糯米球" found in HK Sun Kee is rather different. The black glutinous rice ball is sitting on top of the mango ice together with cubes of fresh mango and good amount of coconut milk to enhance the taste. Overall this is quite an interesting combination but we feel that the glutinous rice ball was kind of too dry and the grains is more on the hard texture side rather than soft and sticky.
Price: S$5.30 per bowl

This is their S$2.00 promotion item known as "Mango Pomelo Sago - 杨枝甘露". The combination of mango puree with small sago pearl goes well with the juicy pomelo topping which makes this a great tropical dessert during hot days or after meal.
Opening Promotion: S$2.00 per bowl (Usual Price: S$4.80 per bowl)

As for snack we are caught between the choice from Osmanthus Jelly, Custard Bun and this "Water Chestnut Cake - 马蹄糕". But guess we finally settle for this pan-fried water chestnut cake which taste great with its slightly burnt and crispy outer texture.
Price: S$2.80 per plate

DESSERT STORY - 甜品物语

  Last month Dessert Story has opened a new outlet at North Point, Yishun where patrons can either dine-in at the store area or takeaway the orders. So with its' attractive menu and clean layout concept we decided to pop-by and try out some of their dessert after our Sunday service last weekend.

After making our orders we are very surprised and kind of disappointed with the presentation of their food. With the price that we are paying for, it seems that most of the food and desserts are being served on those  party type of white paper plate and bowl which makes it look so unprofessional. And for this "Mango Snow Ice - 芒果冰", the colour of the mango look rather brown instead of those bright yellow. Overall the mango taste rather sourish instead of sweet which makes this dessert a disappointment in taste.
Price: S$3.80 per bowl


  But at least their "Durian Pengat" taste quite decent with a scoop of pure durian paste sitting on top of the shaved ice and drizzle with generous amount of coconut cream and Gula Melaka syrup (Palm Sweet Syrup).
Price: S$4.80 per bowl

I was attracted to this "Triple Colour Steamed Cake" when placing the order. According to the cashier staff each colour represents a different ingredients such as "Purple - Yam Cake". "Orange - Pumpkin Cake" and "White - Carrot Cake". After tasting we find that there are actually nothing fancy about these steamed cakes or its' sweet sauce but except for the accompany dried chili sauce which was spicy, fragrant and it did extra some points to this snack.
Price: S$2.50 per plate

  Since the varieties of dim sum at this outlet was limited we do not have other choices but to pick this "Steam Glutinous Rice". But at least the glutinous rice was well seasoned and the overall texture of the rice and meat were soft and tender to taste.
Price: S$2.50 per plate


With more and more dessert outlets sprouting out from each shopping malls I guess patrons like us would have more exposure to all kinds of new creations. But sometime I realised that different outlets seems to be serving different standard of food which it rather bad in reflecting their company imagine. Perhaps in order to maintain a good quality and standard of their food they should not consider to open too many outlets unless they can standardise and guarantee the quality of their servings.

Korea Winter Discovery 2010 - Mt Sorak National Park And Nami Island

After a good night rest and hearty breakfast our itinerary of the day would be heading towards Mount Sorak National Park to witness it beauty through granite peaks, lush green valleys, dense forest, snowy scene and etc. And due to the good weather we also have the chance to ascend to the summit by cable car and get a magnificent view of the park at the top of the mountain. After lunch we proceed to the 2nd attractions; Nami Island where some scenes from Winter Sonata are being filmed there.

Warm Mixed Fruits Breakfast Oats

  December school holiday has finally come to an end and tomorrow it will be a brand new school terms for most of the students. Furthermore I am sure for those parent(s) whom has a child that goes Primary 1 this year, these few days would be a challenging days for both the kid and parents. Take me as an example, I have being worrying for my boy 1st day of school since early December so I guess tomorrow would bound to be an excited and stressful day for both of us.

Since breakfast is a very important meal to start off for the day especially for young school kids. I would like to share with you one of my boy's favourite oatmeal dish that he usually takes in the morning.Perhaps this would add-on some ideas to your usual breakfast list especially in recent cozy rainy seasons too.

Research shows that Daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol due to its soluble fiber content. So having a bowl of this quick and easy oatmeal with your desire toppings would be definitely a great choice to start off the day.

Ingredients: (Serve 2)

1/2 Cup Quaker Quickcook Oatmeal
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Milk
1/3 Cup Dried Mixed Fruits and Nuts
2 Tablespoons Honey

Method:

1. Place oatmeal and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium low heat.
2. When the mixture comes to boil, keep stirring on and off for 1 minute or until slightly thicken and creamy.
3. Turn off the heat. Rest cooked oatmeal porridge in the saucepan for another 3 minutes to achieve a more smooth and creamy texture.
4. Divide the oatmeal porridge between bowls and top with dried mixed fruits and nuts, drizzle with honey and serve warm.

VARIATION:

~ Banana Topping:
1. Place 2 tablespoons of honey and some chopped nuts in a small frying pan and cook it over medium heat for 1 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add banana (1 large banana cut into sliced) in the honey mixture and toss well then serve the cooked oatmeal with banana toppings.

~ Mixed Berries Topping:
1. Place 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries(thawed) and 1 teaspoon brown sugar in a small bowl and mixed well then use it as topping.

But if you prefer something more savory like minced meat or fish porridge, don't worry you could always turn this sweet dish into something unique like one of my "Savory Oatmeal Porridge - 麥片粥". If you are interested to find out more about this recipe you could click this link HERE.

Garmin-Asus A10 vs A50 Smartphones

Recently I was invited by OMY blogclub to test out these two new navigation smartphones from Garmin-Asus together with another 9 selected bloggers (details HERE). Both these Garmin-Asus A10 and A50 (link HERE), built on the Android™ platform, which is a full-featured smartphone combined with Garmin's proven GPS navigation that brings people and places together either while walking, taking public transport or driving.

Both Germin-Asus A10 and A50 do have similar features and layouts but when comes to the physical phone itself they also have some slight differences. Example:- only the front cover of A10 is glossy while the back is attached with a matte texture case, which is totally different from A50. And for my aspect, A10 seems rather similar to IPhone 3 design from a certain angle at its' front view. While A50 on the other side has a wider screen with basic black glossy design that might draws possible demand from another preference range of user(s).

This simplify specifications chat above shows a clear glance between the main functions of Garmin-Asus A10 and A50 (link HERE). From this table user(s) could make a quick choice of whether to get a speedy A10 smartphone with 5 Megapixel Auto Focus function or settle for a slightly wider screen (3.5") A50 to satisfy viewing pleasure with a minor differences in price.

Each Garmin-Asus smartphone comes with a set of Car Kit in a bundle together with purchased of the phone from any major telcos or authorised retailers. The car kit comprises a powered audio mount that magnifies the volume of the handset’s voice commands too. This car mount also automatically switches the phone (either A10 or A50) to hands-free mode when it is locked in and records the final GPS location once the phone is removed in order to enable user(s) to navigate home at their parking locations with ease.

Note:

~ The car kit use is different for both A10 and A50 phone.

During Navigating both phones are intelligent enough to automatically recalculates the routes whenever there’s a detour and also provides a street view image if the route heads towards any junctions or split roads along the highway. From the collage photos above you would also notice there is speed limit indicator beside the Arrival Time on the bottom right-side of the screen which shows the current speed limit of the car and a little “RED” circle beside it that changes constantly showing the speed limit of the road. And if the driver(s) exceed the speed limit shown in the red circle the current car speed shown will automatically changed to RED in order to alert the driver(s) for speeding.

Another on road features about this Germin-Asus A10 and A50 are:- they would dims itself down and even appears on light saving mode during longer sections of the journey but once there is a turn or junction the screen will light up and the navigation lady would alert the driver(s) with audio message that still keeps the driver(s) sight forcus on road. But this audio navigation tends to fail once there is an incoming call(s) which is automatically answered in speakerphone mode when the phone is mouted on the car kit.

Further to the above, both Germin-Asus A10 and A50 features Google Maps™ with Street View, which enables user(s) or driver(s) to take a detailed look at their destinations even with labeled landmarks and icons before embarking on navigation. These smartphones also preloaded with NAVTEQ® map of Singapore and Malaysia with standard PND (Personal Navigation Device) functions such as turn-by-turn navigation and more advance features like Lane Guidance and Junction View that enable user to have a clear look out.

Searching for destinations would be quick and easy either through the Garmin Points of Interest database or location search from the network database. Simply just enter the address, hit Go and let the Garmin navigation do the searching and planning while users relax and complete journey with clear instructions of turn-by-turn voice navigation and 3D visual maps.

Here I do a simple test base on the "Public Transportation" function if driving is not accessible during peak hours or festive seasons. I input a search location for the phone to plan and plot a shortest way to reach my destination and above collage photo shows the steps and two different display modes (map or details) for the route. The details even document the departure and arrival time to the destination, walking distance, directions (if requires), number of transfer and etc that is very useful for a 1st visit to the input destination.

These phones are preloaded with maps and data for the region or country where it is sold. It also features Points of Interest that cover Petrol Stations, ATMs, Restaurants, Airports, Travel Guide and etc. In Singapore where there are all kinds of delicious cuisines spreading around island wide, it would be great for user(s) to tag on with the “Food/Restaurant” search function that is available in the both phones. With this easy guidelines food lovers could pick their choose of dining base on either the “Nearest Location”, “Top Rate Restaurants”, “Yummer’s Review” and etc to locate the best recommending food based on reviews and voting popularity.

Other than being a navigation phone, both the A10 and A50 also preloaded with some latest Mobile Phone Apps and other useful functions such as “Twitter”, “Facebook”, “Google Browser”, “Weather Forecast”, “Movies” and etc that always keep user(s) on the move.

From the specification of the two phones above, Garmin-Asus A10 comes with a 5 Mega-pixel Auto focus camera compared to Garmin-Asus A50 which is only 3 Mega-pixel. Overall both the phones have almost similar camera function which is pretty easy to use and it also allows users to upload photos to social network applications like facebook and twitter or sending it through email and MMS. After testing the two phones, I personally feel that A50 was rather slow in speed while capturing and saving photos as well as in videos mode compared to A10 which is more speedy.

This two photos are taken using Garmin-Asus A10 (1st photo) and A50 (2nd photo). Some of you might wonder why with A10 5 Mega-pixel Auto focus camera the end-result still seems to be on the downside compared to the 2nd photo taking by A50. Perhaps that might just be some minor problem due to the weather and lighting which caused some setback.

With the built-in "Flight Status" option that is available in both phones, user(s) can even get details on the flight arrival or departure timings from the worldwide airport based on trip destination. This extra function would come in handy for those who travel frequently in order to receive latest flight scheduled updates in a more convenient way.

Finally for the conclusion, with the powerful seamless GPS navigation that are integrated in both Android 2.1 Garmin-Asus A10 and A50, user(s) can easily share current location via SMS, e-mail and other communication methods in a faster way. And after all the testing and comparison between the two phones, I personally feel that they do share a lot of similar functions and apps so with a minor differences of S$30.00 in retail price for A50 with a slight 0.3” wider torch screen, I guess most of user(s) or perhaps me would rather go for the speedy 512MB SDRAM with 5 Mega-pixel auto focus camera Germin-Asus A10 smartphone unless I am tempted with the phone design (slimer and lighter) or larger viewscreen of A50.