Monday 17 September 2012

Okara Black Butter Cake

After using Okara (豆渣) to make the Okara Mantou and Omelette (recipes here) I am again inspired to bake an Okara Butter Cake which is "Black" in colour. This is a random thought on baking something common but yet in a "black" theme to support a past "dining issue".

When I first drafting out the recipe I have a mixture of banana and Durian Butter Cake in mind whereby I replace certain amount of the mashed banana/durian pulps with fresh Okara and Homemade Organic Soymilk.


BLACK BUTTER CAKE
(using Homemade Soymilk, Okara and Charcoal Powder)


In order to achieve the "charcoal" colour and yet not using too many black soybean to bitten the taste of the soymilk and okara, I added a teaspoon of Bamboo Charcoal powder. 


(Make: 2 tins (17cm x 8cm x 6cm) | Preparation: 10 minutes   | Cooking: 40 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 200g Self Raising Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Charcoal Powder, optional
  • 200g Unsalted Butter, soften
  • 180g Caster Sugar
  • 4 Eggs (55g each)
  • 150g Okara
  • 50ml Homemade Soymilk
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract


Method:-
1. Preheat Oven to 170°C degree Celsius.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (beating with an electric mixer for about 4 - 5 minutes on medium speed).

3. Add in 1 egg at a time, beating well in between each additions.


4. Beat in Okara till combined (a few seconds). Using a rubber spatula, fold in half the sifted flour mixture (careful not to over-stir or beat the mixture) and follow by milk and remaining flour.

5. Divide the batter into the prepared casing, bake the cake in preheated oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer insert in the middle and come out clean.

6. When cooked, remove cake from the oven, allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.


Overall the cake is moist and infuse with an aromatic fragrance from the soymilk and okara used. Best of all it's sweet and fragrance taste has take over the usual rich butter cake texture and hence it tastes "light" and "refreshing".

So if you do make your own soymilk, remember to keep some of those Okara to try out this unusual butter cake.

Saturday 15 September 2012

Swensen's New Breakfast Menu‏

It's weekend again, are you looking for some weekend breakfast idea? I am sure after a tiring week at work you would want to enjoy some hearty breakfast treat to reward yourself and also spend some quality time with family or friends while enjoying weekend breakfast.

From this September, Swensen's is serving nine NEW breakfast creations and two Kiddie Corner sets to spoil your palette with the brunch classic such as pancakes, omelettes, eggs, French toast and even bee hoon soup for Asian style breakfast. 

Each breakfast set comes with a complimentary cup of coffee or tea and a glass of fruit juice for kid's set. Bu alternative you could also top an additional dollar for a glass of fruit juice instead of the normal beverage or Milo for the kids.

But for those who need a dose of their daily Espresso, Cappuccino or Cafe Latte; an additional S$2.50 with any breakfast set ordered could be done.

These are Ciabatta Rolls which are freshly baked daily and filled with delicious honey butter which they made in-house. And this accompany side comes with either the Good Morning Sunnies, Hearty Steak and Eggs or Swensen's Sunrise Omelette/Scrambled Eggs.

I just simply love munching them with sip of coffee/tea and they are so addicting and flavorsome.  Hope they will include this in their ala crate menu too.

Good Morning Sunnies (S$11.90) starts off your day with a full breakfast set that consists of two sunny-side up eggs together with baked honey butter cream Ciabatta rolls, chicken sausages, hashbrown and sauteed mushrooms. 

If you love the oozing yolks from the poached eggs that served with generous drizzle of Hollandaise sauce, I would suggest you go for Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (S$12.90). The Eggs Benedict are served on two slices of sourdough bread together with slices of smoked salmon plus some homemade BBQ beans as side dish.

If sandwich is what you need for a weekend morning, perhaps The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich (S$9.90) that is assemble with Parmesan eggs, chicken ham and tomato slices  in between two slices of toasted fragrant Japanese Bread will your excellent choice. To complete the meal, some homemade BBQ beans and sauteed mushrooms are served as sides too. 

Classic French Toast With Honey Butter Cream (S$10.90) is another option if you just simply love bread for breakfast. Instead of sandwich the thick Japanese bread with ham and egg shown above, here they have grilled it to golden brown toast and served with homemade honey butter cream, chicken sausage, sauteed mushrooms and hashbrown for a hearty set. 

For something light or extra to share amount friends or family, perhaps you can get this Simply French Toast (S$6.90) that comes with three slices of Japanese bread which are grilled instead of pan-fry to golden brown and served with homemade honey butter cream. Just simply love the texture of their French Toast!

Hearty Steak And Eggs (S$14.90) featured grilled steak which is layered with sauteed onions and top with a sunny-side up egg together with sauteed mushrooms, homemade BBQ beans and their signature baked honey butter cream Ciabatta rolls. .

This is the closed up of the grilled steak which is served with the Hearty Steak And Eggs. Although it might not be the prefect steak as compared to most restaurant selling steak but this Hearty set is definitely something worth and comfort for brunch. 

I am sure most of us love "pancakes" especially those from McDonald that served with meaty patty, butter cream and honey. Here I would urge you to try this All American Buttermilk Pancakes (S$9.90) from Swensen's new breakfast menu which are light and fluffy on the inside, golden brown on the outside as well with just a hint of crispness.

And these pancakes goes well with their homemade honey butter cream which makes you crave for more pancakes. 

Simply Pancakes (S$6.90) is quiet similar to the All American Buttermilk Pancakes set above, but it comes with an extra slice of buttermilk pancake without the accompany sides (sauteed mushrooms, hashbrown and chicken sausages). Most of us on the same table just love this simply and airy treat which is irresistible especially with their delicious homemade  butter cream and maple syrup.

Egg lovers can go for either Swensen's Sunrise Omelette/Scramble Eggs (S$10.90) which both served with Ciabatta Rolls, Chicken Sausages, Hashbrown and Sauteed Mushrooms.

As you can see from the photo above, the omelette is cooked together with diced tomatoes and herbs which remains slightly moist inside and it is nicely wrapped like Japanese "omurice" style.

But if you prefer something light, soft and moist rather than parcel wrapped perhaps, you could consider taking this Swensen's Sunrise Scrambled Egg. The scrambled egg we had that day is perfectly cooked with soft and a little moist in texture which goes well with the rest of the sides.

For the little ones, Swensen's also prepared two different set of Kid's Meal such as Eggy Delight (S$6.90) which is served with delicious sunny-side up eggs, grilled sausages and potato smiles for a perfect protein boost.

Or the little ones can go for Lil' Buttermilk Pancakes (S$6.90) which are pancakes served with chicken sausages and potato smiles.

For a Asian style preference, Prawn Bee Hoon Soup (S$11.90) which featured thick bee hoon in chicken broth together with fresh juicy prawns and vegetables would be something light and health for breakfast or even brunch. To go with the bee hoon soup, there is also a prawn gyoza (fritter) side which served with sweet mayonnaise that comes with it.

All these breakfast items are available at any 21 Swensen's outlets across the island during weekends and Public Holidays from 8am to 11am. But as for the Good Morning Sunnies and Hearty Steak And Egg, they are made available until 3pm.

Swensen's Changi outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 2, will be serving this breakfast menu from 3am to 11am, daily.

Between if you are having breakfast at their Swensen's ION flagship branch (2 Orchard Turn,#B1-31, ION Orchard), perhaps you would also like to try out their Ice-cream buffet which has a wide varieties of ice-cream, sorbet, cakes, tarts and etc.

I would like to thank Swensen's and Tiffany from Touch Communications for hosting me and the rest of the media for this wonderful Swensen's New Breakfast Menu tasting.

Friday 14 September 2012

Flavour Of Thailand at PARKROYAL On Beach Road

I have missed out "Plaza Brasserie Crab Feast" in July due to some work commitment but you could read more over at Jacob (HERE) and ShiTing (HERE) posts. So when Karen invited me for the Flavour of Thailand I immediately agreed as I am a huge fan of Thai Cuisines (my Thai recipes HERE) and my favourites are the Thai Papaya Salad, Red/Green Curry, Basil Pork, Beef Noodles, Durian Dessert and etc.

From now till 31 October 2012, you can feast all the delicious Thai Cuisine and Desserts at Plaza Brasserie Flavour of Thailand buffet during dinner hours. Other than Thai Cuisine, they are still other international food on the buffet spread such as Sushi, Sashimi, Assorted Prata, Chicken Rice, Oysters and etc.

For starter we have Thai Papaya Salad and Thai Glass Noodles Salad. If to compare both, I would prefer the crunchy Papaya Salad over the Glass Noodles as it has more combination of texture and taste from the green papaya, peanuts, tomato and chilli.

The Thai Glass Noodle Salad taste a bit bland perhaps some of the seasonings or sauce is missing as compared to those in the Thai restaurant where lot of fresh herbs like coriander is added together with Thai Lime juice and Fish Sauce to enhance the aroma and taste.

Thai Fish Cakes are a common street food in Thailand which are more flavorful when compared to most Western And Asian fish cake. The authentic Thai Fish Cakes are not battered as it allows fresh taste of the fish, spices, and herbs to combine together. Here at Plaza Brasserie, their Thai Fish Cakes are a bit different with breaded outer layer and deep-fried till crispy before serving with Thai-style Chilli Sauce.

Although this Thai Beef Noodle Soup is quiet popular among those who have tried it that evening, but some of us felt that if the beef slices could be slightly thinner and tender it would prefer this dish. But on top of it the soup broth is rich and flavorsome and it makes a few of us run back for second helping too. 

{MUST TRY} Thai Red Curry With Roast Duck is my favourite dish among all that were served that night. The curry is tasty and flavorsome without too much of coconut milk taste and it goes well with the vegetables and roast duck.

Stir Fried Kai Lan in Thai Style is one of the well-like dishes among those who are sited around our table. The Kai Lan is crunchy and tasty even with just some carrot and mushrooms.

Stir-fried Minced Pork in Thai Style is rather bland towards my liking as I feel it could be better if more basil leaves are added to bring up it's unique aroma and perhaps less watery for the sauce so that the minced pork can adsorb the flavour of the seasonings.

{MUST TRY} This Steamed Fish With Spicy Thai Lime And Chilli is one of my favourite dish which is 2nd in line after the Thai Red Duck Curry.  The tangy and spicy sauce blend well with the freshness of the fish and it makes you can't stop with just one or two helping instead you would want to hide in one corner and finished up the whole fish by yourself.

For your information, during Monday to Thursday, Chef Jackson Goh will be preparing your favourite fishes in one of various styles which includes Spicy Thai Lime and Chilli, Thai Green Curry, Thai Red Curry or Basil in Coconut Cream.

{MUST TRY} When it comes to Thai Desserts, Steamed Glutinous Rice with either Durian or Mango is always my first choice that comes to my mind when ordering dessert. And I have being eying this Steamed Glutinous Rice with Durian the moment I spot it at the dessert counter.

If you are a Thai dessert and Durian lover, I would recommend you to try this. The glutinous rice is well-cook with the right texture which is not too soft and the durian pulps are from good quality of Durians.

God is good to let me enjoy my two favourite Thai dessert one after another. Above shows the Candied Tapioca With Coconut Milk where the tapioca is cooked thoroughly with sugar till soften and served with coconut milk. Although some parts of the tapioca are not very well-cooked but overall it still taste delicious with some coconut milk over it. 


Flavours of Thai at PARKROYAL on Beach Road
5 September to 31 October 2012



Plaza Brasserie
7500A Beach Road
Singapore 199591
Reservation: +65 6505 5710
Website: Flavour Of Thai Buffet

Dinner (Mondays to Thursdays): Adult $52++, Child $31++
Dinner (Fridays to Sundays): Adult $55++ Child $33++


Thursday 13 September 2012

Pandan Kaya Using Joyoung Soymilk Maker

My impulse on making this Pandan Kaya comes from Celes (Celestial Delish) who recently shared with us some of her delicious homemade kaya as we were both inspired by Chef Ann's mentioned on making kaya using Joyoung soymilk maker during the media preview (read more here).

Making kaya is quiet similar to the western style of making lime/lemon curd or custard where egg, sugar and in this case, coconut milk and pandan leaves are needed for it's uniquer fragrant, colour and taste. Here with either soymilk maker or bread machine that comes with "Jam" function, it actually cuts down cooking time a lot more and delicious homemade kaya will ready ready in breeze without you standing at the stove for hours stirring and keep an eye for it.


HOMEMADE PANDAN KAYA
(using Joyoung Soymilk Maker)


I love the natural jade green colour and taste of this Homemade Pandan Kaya. The natural green and unique aroma comes from using fresh Pandan Leaves blended with coconut milk which both can be found in either major supermarkets or wet markets.


(Make: 1 Cup  | Preparation: 10 minutes  | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
250ml Coconut Milk
4 (55g) Whole Egg
120g - 150g Caster Sugar
15 Pieces of Pandan Leaves


Method:-
1. Blend Pandan leaves (cut into 1cm wide pieces) together with coconut milk and strained through muslin cloth or soup bag. Set aside.

2. Whisk egg and sugar together till sugar dissolve (about 2 minutes or less). Stir in pandan coconut milk mixture and mix well.

3. Pour the mixture into Joyoung soymilk maker. Select "Jam" function. (I repeat the process twice in the soymilk maker to get a thicker texture)

4. Once done, let it stand in the machine for about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a double-boiler (I pour it into a glass mixing bowl and simmer over a pot of boiling water till the kaya is thicker, it takes about 8 - 10 minutes)

5. Store kaya in sterilized glass jar (boil glass jar in boiling water for about 5 minutes) and keep in the fridge after completely cool down.


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