Thursday 27 November 2014

Roast Turmeric Chicken Thigh


I love this roast turmeric chicken thighs with juicy meat under the paper-thin golden skin well coated with spices. A few drops of lime juice would give the nutty aroma a twist :)

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients 
3 chicken thighs

Marinades 
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp rice wine
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp seasoning powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder 
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp ginger, chopped
1 tsp garlic, chopped
Updated on 8 Dec 2017


Direction
1. Rinse and drain chicken thighs. Trim away any visible fat with a pair of kitchen scissors.

2. Add all the marinades into the mixing bowl with the chicken thighs.

3. Use your hand to mix and ensure the thighs are well coated with the marinades.

4. Cover the marinated thighs with a lid and allow them to be marinated for at least 1/2 hours. I let them marinate for two hours.

5. Place the thighs in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake the thighs at 180 degree Celsius for 20 minutes.

7. After 20 minutes, remove the tray from the oven toaster and baste the thighs with the oil collected from the tray.



8. Return the tray to the toaster oven and continue to bake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven toaster and baste the thighs with the oil again.
Repeat this steps for 3 times.

9. At the final round of roasting, turn up the temperature to 200 degree Celsius and bake the thighs for 1 minute.
After the roasting, allow the thighs to remain in the toaster oven and let the remnant heat melts the fat under the skin.

10. Serve the thighs with some squeeze lime juice and enjoy :)



Purple Sweet Potato Bread Loaf


This purple sweet potato bread loaf, though it appears brown more than purple, has a very soft texture. By steaming the sweet potato chunks with the sweet pandan leaves, the bread carries a vague pandan scent mixed with coconut milk scent. Smelling it is enough to whet your appetite ^^

Yield: 3 small loaves 
Loaf pan size: 30Lx10Wx8H cm
Breadmaker: Whirlpool BM 1000
Raw dough: about 588g

Ingredients (room temperature)
120g purple sweet potato paste
260g bread flour
3/4 tsp instant dry yeast
30g fine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
40g trim coconut milk
100g fresh milk
20g beaten egg
20g unsalted butter

Some beaten egg as egg wash 

Direction 
1. Steamed sweet potato chunks with pandan leaf (optional) in medium high heat for 20 minuets, or till a stick can poke through easily.

2. Remove the pandan leaves. While the sweet potato is still hot, mesh it using a fork. Collect 120g of sweet potato paste.

3. Pour trim coconut milk and fresh milk into a heat resistant bowl and keep warm in a rice cooker for about 10 minutes.

4. Pour the milk mixture into the bread pan.

5. Pour in the sugar and salt.

6. Add in the unsalted butter.

7. Loosen the sweet potato paste slightly and add into the bread pan.

8. Pour in the bread flour.

9. Dig a hole with your finger and pour in the instant dry yeast.

10. Place the bread pan back to the bread machine.

11. Close the lid and select "Dough" function, and start the process.

After 1:30 h, the dough is ready.

12. Invert out the dough onto a floured worktop.


13. Flatten the dough with your palm.

14. Divide the dough into 3 portions, each weighs about 196g.

15. Shape the 3 doughs into balls, coat with some flour, covers with a lid and let them rest for 15 minutes.

16. Roll out a dough to a width slightly shorter than 2 times the width of the loaf pan.

Flip the dough over, so the smoother side will be facing out when roll up.

Fold in both sides,

and roll up the dough.

17. Place the dough into a greased loaf pan.
Repeat for the remaining 2 doughs.

18. Spray some water and transfer the dough into a closed oven.  Allow the dough to proof for about 40 minutes.


19. When the top of the dough reaches 1 cm above the brim of the loaf pan, remove the dough out of the oven. Start to preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius.

20. Brush a thin coat of egg wash over the top of the dough.

21. Bake the bread dough in the oven at 170 degree Celsius for about 19 to 20 minutes, or till the top turns golden.

22. Remove the bread from the oven and  turn out the bread onto a cooling rack.


23. Slice the bread after it has cooled down :)






Tuesday 25 November 2014

Cookie Crust Bread Loaf

This sweet soft loaf of bread with crispy cookie crust would make everyone fighting for the two bread ends. As these are the two slices having the thickest cookie crust :P

Yield: One 13Lx10Wx15H cm loaf
          About 570g

Cookie Crust
Ingredients
60g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
30g unsalted butter, softened
25g fine sugar
15g beaten egg
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 tsp fine sugar for sprinkling, optional

Direction
1. Mix all purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl using a hand whisk. Set aside.

2. Whip butter till light using a hand whisk. This takes about 2 minutes.

3. Add in sugar and whip for about 5 minutes, or till creamy light.


4. Add in beaten egg in a few small  batches.

5. Add in vanilla essence.

6. Fold in the sieved flour in 3 lots using a spatula.


7. Transfer the cookie dough to a small sandwich bag. Flatten and shape the dough using a dough cutter. Try to shape the dough close to the bread pan area.




8. Refrigerate the cookie dough for about 1 hour. 
You can take out the cookie dough about 5 minutes before reaching the 1:55 countdown timer.

Bread dough
Ingredients 
150g whole milk 
20g condensed milk

25g beaten egg
40g fine sugar 
1/4 tsp salt 
30g unsalted butter

225g bread flour 

25g top/cake flour 

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast 

Direction
1. If you are using cold milk, keep warm the fresh milk, and condensed milk in a rice cooker for 10 minutes.
Or, you can let them stand in room temperature for about 25 minutes.
The temperature should not exceed 38 degree Celsius in order not to affect the yeast.


2. Pour milk mixture into the bread pan.

3. Add in beaten egg (about 1/2 an egg).

4. Add in sugar and salt.

5. Add in unsalted butter.

6. Pour in bread flour and cake flour.


7. Dig a hole and pour in the instant dry yeast.


8. Place the bread pan into the bread machine.

9. Select "5" Sweet Dough function; select the Crust Colour; and press "start".
I chose "Medium" crust colour.

10. When the countdown timer appears 1:55 (1 hour after starting the "Sweet Dough" program), take out the dough and shape it into a ball.
Remove the kneading blade, and place the dough back to the bread pan.

11. When the countdown timer reads 2:00, takes out the cookie dough from the fridge, cut open the sandwich bag, and coat the back with some beaten egg.

12. Carefully place the cookie dough above the bread dough. Press lightly to ensure good contact between the two doughs.
Close the lid and wait for the dough to proof and bake.
If you prefer a sweeter cookie crust, you can sprinkle some fine sugar to it.

13. The bread is ready *\(^o^)/*

14. Transfer the loaf out of the bread pan, and allow it to cool down on the cooling rack before slicing it :)