Lemon Thyme Fish with Roasted Sweet Potato

Dinner on Saturday was fish as I had been making chicken and beef dishes. Decided to make something lighter in flavours.

Thyme and lemon went rather well together. The fish was soft and not too dry. A good choice for a lighter flavoured meal. The sweet potatoes could do better; guess I have to look for better ideas for that next time.

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Recipe

Roasted Sweet Potato
Sweet Potato 2 medium
Cinnamon 1/2tsp
Olive Oil 2tbsp
Brown Sugar 1tbsp
Salt 1tsp

1. Cube the sweet potatoes.
2. Marinate it in the other ingredients and bake at 210 degrees C for 50 minutes or until soft.

Lemon Thyme Fish
Fish fillet of choice
Juice and zest of half lemon
4-5 sprigs of thyme
Olive Oil 2tbsp
Salt 3/4tsp
Pepper to taste

1. Marinate the fish fillet together with all the other ingredients for about 1 hour.
2. On high heat, sear the fish on both sides until lightly browned.
3. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes, putting in some of the thyme as well.

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Apple Raisin Bread Pudding

Had a craving for both tiramisu and bread pudding, and so wanted to make tiramisu bread pudding, but Marsala wine was all out of stock. So I made apple and raisins bread pudding instead.

This was what I made my Brioche for and turns out to be pretty good. The top was a little crusty, but the inside was still moist and soft.

Sweetness was just nice, and you can taste the hint of cinnamon coupled with the apple, raisins and custard flavours.

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Recipe

Brioche Bread (stale)
Apples 2 (Royal Gala)
Raisins as desired
Eggs 4
Sugar 3/4cup
Vanilla essence 1tsp
Cinnamon powder 1tsp
Salt 1/2tsp
Milk 3cups

1. Remove the crust from the Brioche and cut into cubes. If your bread is not stale, bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees C.
2. Skin and core the apples and slice cross-sectionally.
3. Put the raisins in a bowl and soak in hot water.
4. In a bowl, mix all the other ingredients together.
5. Lay your cubed brioche in a pan and pour the egg mixture in. Soak for about 30 minutes.
6. I use 5cm wide aluminum molds for easy eating. Lightly butter the molds. The brioche will be mushy, so just grab an amount enough to line the bottom.
7. Lay some raisins and apple slices, before topping with another later of brioche.
8. Bake at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes.

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Brioche

Have never actually eaten Brioche bread before, but attempted to make one as I wanted to use it to make something else.

The whole process involved proofing the dough overnight. Since I have not actually eaten one before, I had no point of reference. However, mine did look very much like the photos I saw. It was quite soft and crumbly, but I would personally prefer the tangzhong method.

Click here for the recipe.

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Chicken Stew

Dinner on a Saturday was chicken stewed with zucchini and chickpeas in tomato sauce, topped with coriander and feta cheese.

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Recipe

Zucchini 1 medium
Chicken 500g
Tomato Paste 1 can
Diced Tomato 1 can
Onion 1 medium
Chickpeas 1 can

1. Cut the chicken meat into pieces, season with salt and pepper to taste, and brown in your pan. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Dice the zucchini and onion and cook till soft.
3. Pour the chicken back into the pot. Add in the chickpeas, tomato paste and diced tomatoes with all the juice.
4. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
5. Serve with a sprinkling of herbs or parsley and crumbled feta cheese.

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Sun with Moon

First time dining at Sun with Moon @ Central Clarke Quay. Took the lunch set.

The unagi was fatty enough, but seemed a little overcooked, and was a little dry and hard.

The mushroom broth was very hearty and good. There were lots of ingredients inside besides mushroom. They even had these little round balls which I initially though to look like fishballs, but turned out to be actually japanese yam.

A small platter of fruits to end it all off.

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Opera Cake

Wanted to make an opera cake for a long time, but always ended up making other stuff.

3 layers of almond sponge cake sandwiched with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache.

The sponge turned out to be pretty good. However, I think if I ever make this again, I can drip more coffee onto it for a stronger flavour.

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Recipe

Cake
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
30g granulated sugar
225g ground blanched almonds
225g confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
70g all-purpose flour
45g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy.
2. In another bowl, beat the almonds, confectioners' sugar and whole eggs until light and voluminous.
3. Add the flour and beat on low speed only until it disappears.
4. Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the melted butter.
5. Pour into 3 10-inch pans and bake at 220 degrees C for 7 minutes.

Coffee Buttercream
10g instant coffee
15g hot water
100g sugar
30g water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
1 egg yolk
200g unsalted butter

1. Make the coffee extract by dissolving the instant espresso in the boiling water; set aside.
2. Boil the sugar, water and vanilla essence in a small pot.
3. Beat the egg and the yolk in a bowl until the eggs are pale and foamy.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly pour in the boiling syrup. Beat until the eggs are thick, satiny and room temperature.
5. In another bowl, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy.
6. With the mixer on medium speed, steadily add the butter in 2-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed and beat until thickened and satiny.
7. Beat in the coffee extract.
8. Chill the buttercream until it is firm enough to be spread.

Chocolate Ganache
240 grams bittersweet chocolate
125g whole milk
30g heavy cream
60g unsalted butter at room temperature

1. Bring the milk and cream to a full boil, pour it over the chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir gently until the ganache is smooth and glossy.
2. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then stir it into the ganache in 2 to 3 additions.
3. Refrigerate the ganache until thickened and spreadable.

Chocolate Glaze
150g bittersweet chocolate
115g unsalted butter

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.
3. Melt the butter and mix well into the chocolate.


Assembly
1. On one layer of sponger, spread 3/4 of buttercream.
2. Place second layer of sponge on top and spread all the chocolate ganache.
3. Place the last layer of cake on top and spread the remaining buttercream.
4. Freeze the cake for 20 minutes.
5. Pour the glaze over the cake and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Slice the edges to clean up any uneven edges.

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Asia Grand Restaurant

Had a dim sum lunch at Asia Grand Restaurant located at Odeon Towers.

Har Gao - the skin was quite soft; better than what I had at Dim Joy in my opinion.

Siew Mai - the insides were quite 'solid', and you can feel the pieces of meat.

Beef Rice Rolls - I thought that the skin was not soft enough, and I think prawn still goes best in rice rolls.

Fried Shrimp Dumpling - the usual here; nothing extraordinary.

Steamed carrot cake - I prefer this version which is more paste-y, as opposed to the julienne radish version at Dim Joy.

Beef Balls - I kinda like this, although the presence of coriander inside might turn some people off.

I cannot remember the name of this, but its skin was a chewy texture and the insides were filled with marinated meat and mushrooms.

Steamed BBQ Pork buns - these were tasty and fluffy - what you would expect from Hongkong-styled buns.

Fried Banana & Shrimp - I remembered eating something similar at a restaurant called Oriental Restaurant in Bedok when I was young, and I loved it. But I think the texture of this skin was not to my liking.

Saw good reviews of their custard bun. Their version here is actually a Pineapple Bun with custard inside.

However, their custard was way better than Dim Joy's, and did not have the sugary feel to it.

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Beef & Cornbread Casserole

Attempted this recipe which turned out to go pretty well with each other.

Minced beef with corn, capsicum, onions in BBQ sauce and topped with corn bread.

I actually forgot to buy cheese, otherwise it might taste even better. And perhaps I should add some corn starch next time to make the sauce thicker, which I think would be better.

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Recipe

Minced Beef 550g
Capsicum 1 medium
Onion 1 medium
Corn 1 can
Coriander 1tsp
Mixed Herbs 1tsp
Tomato ketchup 2tbsp
BBQ sauce to taste
1 box of cornbread mix

1. Oil your pan lightly, and add in the coriander, herbs, onions and capsicum, cooking until soft.
2. Add in corn and cook for a while more. Transfer to bowl.
3. Brown the minced beef in the pan, and add the onions and capsicum back into pan.
4. Remove from heat, and in ketchup and BBQ sauce to taste. Leave to cool.
5. Prepare the cornbread mix as per instructions.
6. Place the beef in your baking container, and top with the cornbread mix.
7. Bake as per instructions for cornbread mix.

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Cinnamon Rolls

Another attempt at cinnamon rolls, and this time it is better...

This time, I did not over bake it and it came out soft enough. However, I think I did not put enough butter and cinnamon sugar, so although I can taste the cinnamon, it was not gooey enough.

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Recipe

Dough
Bread Flour 540g
Sugar 86g
Salt 8g
Yeast 11g
Fresh Cream 100g
Unsalted Butter 50g
Eggs 2

Proof for 1hr.

Cinnamon Sugar
Brown Sugar 1cup
Cinnamon powder 5tbsp
Raisins as desired

1. After proofing dough, roll out into a rectangular shape to desired thickness.
2. Spread 3tbsp of butter on the dough, before spreading the cinnamon sugar.
3. Bake at 180 degrees C for 16-20 minutes.

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Wild Honey

Back at Wild Honey again, but this time I tried something else.

I took the Tunisian breakfast, which was tomato stew with eggs and chorizo sausages and Brioche bread. The stew came with runny eggs, and overall it was pretty savoury with the tomato stew. I love the Brioche bread which was lightly toasted, yet soft on the inside, and went well when dipped into the stew.

I tried the Banoffee Brulee drink. The texture was almost like that of milkshake and made with bananas and coffee, I think. I think the top was made of meringue. Wasn't too bad, but I felt it would have been better with a little more intense flavour.

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Fruit Paradise

Fruit Paradise has been around for some time and the exquisite presentation of the tarts always catches my eye, but this is my first time trying it out.

Tried the the Grapefruit & Orange Tart, which had a cream cheese base. I like the pie crust which was crisp and aromatic. The cream cheese base was delicate and overall, it was not too sweet.

Chestnut Mont Blanc Strawberry Tart. This has a custard base, although the pie crust was pretty much the same. I never quite fancied chestnut cream as they usually feel pretty bland to me. I still preferred the cream cheese base over this.

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Dim Joy

Had dim sum lunch at Dim Joy at the corner of Neil Road and Teck Lim Road. It's a little out of the way, and is housed in a shophouse-like place with a little yard. You might miss it if you did not look close enough.

Steamed prawn rice rolls. The skin of this is not the extremely soft kind, but still good enough. The medium sized prawns were fresh and the soy sauce was not too salty.

Steamed radish cake. Actually, this was more like julienne radish, and not the usual starchy cake-like texture you usually get. It was nice, but i personally prefer the usual kind like the one I had a Wah Lok.

Siew Mai. I did not quite like the texture of what they had here. It centre felt a little too mushy for my liking.

Har Gao. Prawns inside were fresh, but I would prefer a softer skin.

Lotus leaf wrapped chicken glutinous rice. This was good. The glutinous rice was very soft and moist, and the chicken was well marinated.

Fortune Dumplings, which was like a crepe-like skin wrapping a braised mixture of mushrooms and chestnuts within.

Traditional Layer Cake containing coconut and egg yolks.

This was very soft and fluffy; you can see the layers in this pic.

Lastly, we had Custard Buns a.k.a Liu Sha Bao. Actually, not quite considered the usual kind custard I think, as the recipe I found seemed to be of egg yolks and butter.

Fresh out of the steamer and the insides are oozing out. Somehow, this seem to contain sugar, and I can actually feel the crunch of the sugar as I bit into it, which was something I did not quite like.

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