Osmanthus Sticky Rice Cake

This is same recipe with the Black Sesame Sticky Rice Cake I made few years ago, with different flavoring.

Ingredients:

Glutinous rice flour - 1 and 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 1/2 -2/3 cup
Water - 1 cup
Oil - 1 and 1/2 TBSP
Dried Osmanthus - 1 TBSP

Steps:

1. Whisk glutinous rice flour, rice flour, dried osmanthus, and sugar in a microwaveable bowl. Then add water and oil. Stir until smooth.

2. Microwave the barter on high for 2 minutes, take out and stir. Microwave again for a minute and stir. Repeat until the dough turns transparent and fully cooked
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes.
4. On a clean surface, place a large piece of plastic wrap and transfer cooked dough on one end. Lift the other half of wrap to cover the dough and knead it. Open the wrap, fold the dough, then cover with the wrap and knead again. Repeat a few more times until the dough is smooth and well mixed.

4. Shape the dough into logs. Wrap and place in the fridge for 2-4 hours. Then slice and serve.

Gold Coin Bakkwa (金钱肉干)

Bakkwa is a Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product similar to jerky. It originated from the Fujian province in China where it is considered a Hokkien delicacy. It traditionally takes the form of thin square slices. The Gold coin shaped ones are made during Chinese New year for good luck and prosperity.

Ingredients

Grounded Pork - 1 lb (40% fat)
Fish Sauce (鱼露) - 2 TBSP
Red Yeast Rice Powder (红糟) - 1 tsp
Soy Sauce - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
A little oil for spreading or using a bottle of oil spray

Steps

1. Mixed all the ingredients listed using a spatula and stir at one direction to form a sticky paste ( I used stand mixer with paddle attachment to mix). Let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour to marinate.
2. Grease a small muffins baking tray ( I have one with 48 cavities, perfect for this project). Place about 1 tsp of minced meat in the muffin cup, lightly press to flatten the minced meat to about 3 mm in thickness. Repeat to fill all the cups.

3. Place the pan in the oven and broil the meat for 5 minutes, there is no need to preheat oven. Take the meat out with the help of a tong.

4. Place the cooked coins on a cookie sheet with bottom up, nd broil at high for 2 minutes. Wait until the coins are cooled before serving.

Shanghai Style Rice Cake (上海松糕)

Ingredients

Rice - 1.5 cup

Glutinous Rice - 1.5 cup

Sugar - 3 TBSP

Dried fruit - 1 cup, diced (cranberry, date, raisin or others)

Steps

1. Soak rice in water overnight.

2. Drain water and then ground in Vitamix into coarse powder
3. Mix in sugar, and sift the mixture

4. Mix in half of the diced dried fruits
5. Line a steamer with cheese cloth, and spoon the mixed flour in, do not press down.

6. Put the other half dried fruit on top for decoration.

7. Steam at high hear for 30-45 minutes.

8. Wait for the cake to cool down before slice and serve.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Ever since my niece declared herself vegan, I paid more attention to vegan baking. This thing called Aquafaba, made from chickpea brine, is quite a wonder. Now I just have to find ways to use the chickpea.

Ingredients

Chickpea brine from 1 can of chickpea - about 2/3 cup
Dark Chocolate - 1 cup dark chocolate ,melted

Steps

1. Filter the chickpea brine from a 14 oz can of chickpea. You should get 2/3 cup of liquid from the can. Pour in a stand mixer bowl.

2. Using whisk on high speed to beat the liquid until a stiff peak forms.

3. In another bowl, melt the chocolate chunks with double boiler
4. Stir in the fluffy chickpea mixture into the melted chocolate, adding the fluffy mixture 1/3 cup at a time. Stir until fully combine and no white bites appears. 

5. Fill glasses with the chocolate mousse and refrigerate one hour.

Enjoy with extra grated chocolate, fresh berries, nuts or coconut.

Homemade Croutons

Simple, crunchy and tasty, considering the amount of butter added :-)

Ingredients

A loaf of French Bread, cut into cubes
Unsalted butter - 1 cup
Garlic powder or minced garlic, to your taste
Italian seasoning or dried parsley to your taste
Salt or garlic salt to your taste

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in seasoning and cook for a minutes.
3. Pour the melted butter mixture over the bread cubes; toss to make sure they are all coated.
4. Place coated bread cubes directly on baking sheet.

5. Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned.

Soy Sauce Chicken

Ingredients

Whole chicken - about 1.5 lbs
Soy sauce - 5/8 cup
Dark soy sauce  - 1/2 cup
Water - 7/8 cup - 1 cup
Cooking wine - 1/8 cup
Star anise - 1
Fresh Ginger - 10 slices

Steps

1. In a deep cooking pot, add some oil and brown the ginger slices.
2. Put chicken in the pot, and add all the seasoning.  The sauce should be able to cover half of the chicken. Turn stove to high heat to bring sauce to boiling, then turn down to low heat and cook for one hour. Bath the chicken with sauce every 15 minutes, and flip it in 30 minutes.

3. After turn off the stove, keep pot covered for another 15 minutes to let chicken absorb more flavor.
4. Take out, cut up and serve.