PATA TIM

A chinese braised pork inspired dish and one of the favourite classic filipino dishes called -- Pata Tim (Patatim). A recipe of slowly cooked pork hock braised in soya sauce, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and accompanied with green vegetable (pechay or bok choy) and some banana blossoms. Sweetening it with brown sugar is an option.  This is best serve with steam rice.

You may want to consider preparing this while multi tasking as this require slow cooking time. 😉

PATA TIM

what you need--

1 pc pata front

2 tbsp EVOO for sauteeing

1 head garlic minced

1 medium onions chopped

4 c water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c LKK superior light soy sauce

Peppercorns

Star anise

Bay leaves

Handful of banana blossom

1 pack bok choy (blanched)

1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water

Sesame oil to drizzle

Sautee garlic and onion, add pata to brown.

Then add water, soy sauce, salt, peppercorns, star anise and bay leaves.  Boil until pata is soft. Just add water if needed. When meat is soft, add banana blossom and continue to boil for about 10 mins. 

When done, transfer meat and banana blossom to a serving plate leaving the sauce in a pan.

Simmer the sauce and add cornstarch mix to thicken. When done pour sauce over meat.

Add blanched bok choy on the side.

Serve with steaming rice.

SAND DOLLAR COOKIES

Kids are missing the sand, sea shells and salt water. Their dose of Vitamin SEA was long overdue but their imaginations always run wild as they see their sea shells collection and sands on our table. It brings back the memories of sun bathing, tag games, water splashing, swimming, shell collections, food, drinks and chilling by the beach.

And the best to go pica bites are chocolates, chips and cookies.
So, my youngest said, let's make cookies and pretend we are off to the beach! 😁 A perfect cookie for the destination is a sand dollar, hope you'll enjoy making this as we did!

SAND DOLLAR COOKIES

Yields: 

28 pcs of cookies😍

2 1/2 cm raw cookie becomes  3 1/4cm cooked cookie

Ingredients

200 g unsalted butter

1 1/4 c sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 c almond flour

1/3 c caster sugar mix with 1 tbsp cinnamon

Slivered almonds

Cream butter and sugar.

Add egg and vanilla.

Add flour.

Scoop about 1 tbsp dough, make it a ball and roll in a cinnamon sugar mix. Place in a baking tray and using the bottom of a cup or in my case i used a rice cooker cup to flatten the dough to make it look like a wheel. Then press 5 slivered almonds forming a star in the middle of the dough.

Bake at 175 degrees for 15 mins.

When done remove and brush with cinnamon sugar mix.  RTE.

CHICKEN AL CARBON

Chicken is a favourite meat accepted globally and grilling is always the  preferred means of cooking poultry dishes. However, in highly urbanized setting residentials are space restrained and cooking methods are often challenged but as they say, "If there's a will, there's a way!" 

This brings me into baking, my best option for open fire grilling.

Pollo Al Carbon (Chicken Al Carbon) is a dish of latin origin cooked in an open fire specifically over charcoal. One time i was talking to my sister and she's having dinner with Pollo al Carbon, hhmmm sounds appetizing and later that day, out of curiosity i found myself marinating a chicken griller! I can't accomplish that in an open fire with charcoal but I will surely achieve the same taste over an enclosed grilling-BAKE! 

It's delicious and i want to share this gem to all chicken lovers. Might not be the exact replica of what my sisters are fond of but I'm happy for baking one. Curiosity solved and cravings satisfied! You can do this--

CHICKEN AL CARBON (Pollo Al Carbon)

Ingredients:

1 chicken griller

1/4 c orange juice

1/4 olive oil

1/4 apple cider vinegar

1 tsp each of marjoram, thyme, oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 heads garlic cloves, minced

Place chicken in the ziplock

Pour all ingredients

Seal and shake ziplock

Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours or overnight in a fridge.

Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 1.5 hrs (might be lesser or more) until that "grilled" texture is achieved.

CLASSIC KALAMANSI CUPPIES

Boracay is one of the worlds bests in resorts and beaches.
Never been there, yet! But I can always imagine the waves, the seashore, the people partying and of course the food. They say never leave the island of white, sugary and powdery beaches without tasting one of its best -- Kalamansi Cupcake! Now this got me into more cravings. I researched for the recipe and it's pretty straight forward. Tried and tweaked the mixture  to prove their claim and guess what? -- it's .... moist, soft, tangy, less sweet and fresh cake in a cup.... hhmmm uber delish! and oohhh those kalamansi zests i added gave an extra treat and texture to the cuppies. 

The challenge now is to compare which one is better, mine or theirs... ;-)

CLASSIC KALAMANSI CUPPIES
makes a dozen regular size cuppies

Ingredients:

125 g (half bar) unsalted butter

1 c white sugar

1/4 c kalamansi juice

1/4 c fresh milk

2 pcs whole eggs

1 1/2 c cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Kalamansi zest

note: You can increase kalamansi juice to 1/3 c if you want it more tangy.

Method:

Using a whisk and a mixing bowl, manually cream butter and sugar.

(You can use stand mixer for convenience :-) ) 

Add eggs one by one and mix.

Add flour, baking powder, salt and kalamansi zest. 

Pour milk and kalamansi juice. Mix to combine. Don’t over mix.

Place in a cupcake liner about full. 

Bake at 175 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve warm with cold fruity beverages.

CRACKLING SHRIMP BALL

Kids are sometimes picky on what they eat. My eldest is not an exception, she’s not a big fan of shrimps especially when she needs to do de-shelling😊. But the  challenge is not about being pickyness of the kids rather finding the means to get through these kids’ palate amidst their choices.

This dish is one solution 😊 and they loved it and finished all up to the last ball!

Crackling Shrimp Balls

About 1.8 kg of fresh shrimps = about 450g of shelled clean shrimps

For About 250g clean shrimps

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp  sesame oil

1 tbsp oil

Dash of pepper

Spring onions

1 pack wonton skin (julienne)
Oil for frying

Place all ingredients in a blender except onions and blend into paste. When done remove from the blender and fold in spring onions.

Form into a small ball about a teaspoon each, then  roll into the wonton skin bed (use a scissor to cut excess skin) and  fry til lightly brown.

Serve with sweet chili sauce or sweet & sour sauce or toyomansi

PIANONO

The lightest, simplest and easiest cake i made so far with just few and not so complicated ingredients. An economical cake indeed!

A recipe perfect for small family in just one seating.  Yielding a small cake roll, too small that i was not able to grab a bite😅.  Got so excited writing the recipe that when i return to the table, all was left were sugar crumbs. BUT, thankful cause it means I can bake some more!!!

Pianono

Makes an 11” log, 11 slices @ 1”

3 tbsp cake flour

3 tbsp caster sugar

3 eggs separated

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking powder mix with flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling/ dusting: 

Margarine

White Sugar or can be caster sugar too 

Make Meringue: 

Place egg whites  and cream of tartar in a bowl beat to soft peak ,  slowly add sugar and beat to stiff peak.

Stop the mixer and add beaten eggyolk and vanilla. Turn on the mixer to low speed and mix then slowly add flour mixture (flour + baking powder), continue mixing to combine.

Pour into the baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Pre-heat oven at 175degrees.

Bake cake for 15 mins.

Remove from oven, invert directly on a cooling rack.

Slowly peel the parchment and sprinkle the cake with sugar then cover with parchment and invert the rack. 

From the long edge, slowly roll the cake and let it cool for 5 mins. 

Unroll and spread butter and sprinkle with sugar. Then roll it back.  

Brush Pianono with margarine and sprinkle with sugar. slice and serve.

KOPi BUN

It’s populary known ad ROTI BOY, the first huge bun i ate when i came to visit hubby in Singapore almost 15 years ago,  i was 7 months pregnant for Our first born then. The aroma of  coffee, the sweet foot, the attractive dome and that sweet brown blanket....oohhh its soo godd that tou can just eat it on its own. 

As the years passed, there are many names and versions of this huge bun from
Roti boy to rotipapa and rotimama but they slowly fade. Yet, one bakery still stands islandwide and its a must for us to grab a few pieces whenever we are in the vicinity. :-) 

Today, cravings kicked in and luckily, i still have the recipe i’ve been using the first time i made this several years back with my first stand mixer. Then,  I was not into blogging nor facebooking yet, nor publishing my created and tested recipes. I have to physically pick it out from my indeces of recipes 😅. 

So here it is —

Kopi Bun

Yields about 465g dough

And makes 8 buns about 58g each

Bread

1 3/4 c  bread flour

2 tbsp + 1 tsp white sugar/ caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 egg

1/2 c fresh milk

Place all ingredients, except butter in a mixing bowl and mix into a rough dough.
Then add butter and knead into a smooth dough about at least 15 mins.
Proof for an hour or so until double.

Topping

1/4 bar unsalted butter

3 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar (make this 1/4c)

1 egg

1/4 c bread flour

15ml coffee (about 1 1/4 tsp granulated coffee dilluted in 1 tbsp hot water), use a stronger coffee if you have

Using a whisk, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined. Add flour gradually and beat until well combined. Add coffee and beat well. You’ll get a paste. The texture should be smooth like a cake frosting. Spoon it into a pastry bag and refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling

50g or about 1/4 bar salted butter cut into 8 pcs

Assembly: 

When dough is ready, punch the dough and divide the dough into 58g buns each. Roll and place cubed butter at the center of the dough and bring the sides of the dough to seal. Let it rest for another hour.

Pre- heat oven to 175 degrees.
When ready, Place the topping by swirling the topping halfway☺️ on the bun.

Bake at 175degrees for 20 minutes

Ohhh that melted butter occupied the empty space is sooo good!

PORK BUNS

Who would not be tempted by those soft buns, crunchy sweet top and savoury hot fillings baked to perfection....and with just one bite--- ahhhh heaven! 

Nah! it's just a bread. But a delicious one though. It's sooo good that my kid will finish 3 orders in just one seating and will request for more. This bun is one of their favourites among the bread filled buns but it goes top of the list.  Plus, they will ONLY order that much if it's from their favourite resto. With the Circuit Breaker - Stay at Home situation when dine in is impossible and take out / delivery is a challenge not to mention hygienecally risky, I am challenged and forced to bake one. Proud to say it's a success! Gone in few seconds, even their Dad just had a piece.... he almost missed out!

Here we go---

PORK BUN

Makes about 580 grams of bread dough

about 19 buns at 30g each

ooohhlalala, look at that! Yummy!!!

INGREDIENTS

BREAD

2 c Bread Flour (or all -purpose flour)

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 c + 2 tbsp fresh milk

1 tbsp + 1 tsp white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Then pour milk, add egg. Then  turn the mixer to medium speed and run until the ingredients combined and form rough ball.

Then add the softened  butter and continue mixing until you get a bottom clean bowl this will take at least 15 minutes or so of mixing.

Stop the mixer, scoop the dough and form into a smooth big ball and return to the bowl to proof for at least an hour or until the dough double its size. 

My dough ready for proofing

( I usually make my dough rise to the top of the bowl, that way i am secured that the dough has properly risen ;-)

When done, ready to use.

FILLING

Can be done ahead of time, just place it in the fridge.

1 head garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tbsp oil

2 c pork belly, chopped into small cubes

1 1/2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee  light soya sauce + 1/2 tbsp any dark soya sauce (you can just use 1 tbsp SILVERSWAN soy sauce)

1 tbsp hoisin sauce (Lee Kum Kee)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 c water for the meat

1/2 c water to be mix with 1 tbsp cornstarch

Spring onions (optional, to be mixed with the filling before you place the meat into the dough so you can see the greens inside)

Place oil in a pan and sauté garlic and onion.

Then add pork belly and cook to brown.

In a bowl, add soya sauce, hoisin, oyster and 1/2 c water. Stir to combine.

Then pour over the meat, stir and cover the pan and let it simmer until pork is tender, about 10-15 minutes. (use low heat this time to prevent the filling from burning)

When done, pour the water-cornstarch mixture.

Cook filing until very thick.

Remove from heat and let it cool before use.

Before placing the filling into the dough, add the spring onions. 

Look at that greens, an added appetizing color in your filling. I made a mistake by placing it right away after cooking so the greens were cooked before i placed it inside the dough so i lost the green color  So from the finished product you cant see any greens anymore.  ;-(
So lesson learned, place greens right before you actually fill the bun.

TOPPING

1/4 c unsalted butter (about 50-60g butter))

1/2 c powdered sugar

1 tbsp cornstach

1/2 c flour (all-purpose flour)

1 egg

2 tbsp water

Cream butter and Sugar until light and fluffy.

Add flour , cornstarch, egg and water and whisk until combined and in smooth paste texture.

Place in a piping bag.

Ready to use.

ASSEMBLY

When dough is ready, divide it into 30g each making about 19 small dough balls.

Grab one small dough, flatten it with roller, then scoop about 1 tbsp of filling and place it at the center of the dough. Gather the edges and seal the sides.

Place the bun seal down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Repeat this with the rest of the small doughs.

Once done, let the filled doughs rest for another 40 minutes or until its size doubles.

When done and before baking, cover the bun with filling. Circling the top by swirling it around the bun going down about halfway each bun.

Piping the topping using Wilton #5 Tip But you can also pipe without piping tip, just make a small hole on your tip of the piping bag you are using.

Pre-heat oven to 350º F or 175º C.

Bake buns for about 15-20 minutes until slightly brown, 

DO NOT OVERBAKE...

BEEF WELLINGTON

If Daniel Boulud is famous for his Salmon Coulibiac, Gordon Ramsay is popular for Beef Wellington.  He even called it the "Complete Indulgence. His dish is a signature of forming, searing, flavouring of beef fillet before wrapping it in parma ham. It's a creation of perfection.

Other variation of this dish is made of beef fillet steak wrapped with pâté de foie gras and duxelles, then further wrapped in Parma Ham and finish it up with puff pastry skin before baking.

BUT as years passed by and as many inspirations arise both from Michelin Chefs and home grown chefs, places and cultures, each dish creation is unique and have organically developed  for universal acceptance.

Today's exploration is  an easy dish of Beef Wellington using minced beef as this is the most accepted meat form especially for picky eaters, without using the complexities of pâté de foie gras and duxelles and additional parma ham. But you can explore using the aforementioned ingredients of course! So here we go...

BEEF WELLINGTON
what you need--

500 g minced beef

2 links lemon and pepper sausage ( fresh smokey  sausage is recommended)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

½ tbsp Italian Seasoning

½ tbsp dried parsley

I pc garlic minced

1 large onion minced

2 pcs puff pastry

3 boiled eggs

1 raw egg (separated) egg white for brushing the sides, eggyolks for brushing the top of the pastry before baking.

Mix all the ingredients except the eggs.

Place the pastry on a lined baking tray. Brush the sides with egg whites.

Place ½ of the beef mixture at the center of the pastry like a log.

Add 3 boiled eggs in the middle of the log.

Cover the egg with another half of the beef mixture.

Then cover the log with the second pastry and seal the sides.

Brush the whole of pastry with slightly beaten egg yolks.

Bake at 180° C for 45 minutes.

Reduce heat to 160°C and bake for another 30 minutes.

When done, ready to serve.

You can serve it with Gravy and your favourite vegetables on the side.

GRAVY

Dried meat dishes require dippings or sauces, that's an imperative for me, no matter how tasty the meat dish is, I need some sauce!

Gravy is the common and the easiest sauce to make especially when you have some drippings from grilled or baked meat, but the downside is-- the salt control. Usually it's salty and if you're unlucky the after taste of burnt herbs lingers. But if all goes well, the drippings are perfect starter for gravy as it's full of flavour, grilled herbs and spices and complete seasoning of fats. But what if you don't have drippings and the off the shelf ready mix is not available BUT you needed one? .... don't panic here's how...

GRAVY

what you need---

Basic Ingredient of Gravy is:

Unsalted Butter

Flour

Water

Salt & Pepper

But then we want some flavouring on our gravy and not just a  plain

thick sauce so we complicate it a bit ;-)

¼ c unsalted butter

3 tbsp all-purpose flour (in flour constraint, any flour will do)

2 1/2 c water 

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp dried parsley

1/2 cube knorr chicken

1/2 cube knorr pork (beef will also do)

Melt butter in a pan, then add flour and whisk to cook.

Then add water, seasoning, cubes and soy sauce.

Mix to combine and simmer to thickness.

Ready to use.

Note: Gravy thickens as it cools.

          You can use milk, sherry, red wine, champagne  to replace the water.

          You can add more spices, herbs and vegetables, then mash and drain.