Posts Tagged "Breakfast"

Congee (Xi fan)

Posted by on Sep 4, 2011 in Breakfast, Meat, Rice | 0 comments

Congee (Xi fan)

Congee, growing up meant traditionally a family breakfast meal or whenever someone fell ill. My mother always used to say it would cleanse our bodies and make us feel a lot better. To me, its a great winter warmer and so simple to make, I encourage every household to give it a go!

 

 

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of white rice
  • 20 cups of water
  • 1 tablet chicken stock
  • ¼ ginger

Garnishes

 

Directions

1. Wash the rice until the water goes clear. Peel & slice ginger into small strips.
2. Using a cast-iron pot (I use le creuset pot which is a staple in my kitchen as it conducts heat evenly), add the water and bring to the boil on high heat.
3. Add the rice and bring again to the boil. Turn the heat down to low.
4. Add the ginger and chicken stock. Ensure stock is evenly dissolved.
5. Stir on a regular basis to avoid the rice sticking to the pot.
6. Serve hot with the garnishes separate on the table to allow everyone to choose and mix themselves.

Tip: For even softer congee, use day old steamed rice instead of cooking rice from scratch.

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Taiwanese sesame sandwich (Shao Bing)

Posted by on Jul 24, 2011 in Breakfast, Small eats | 0 comments

Taiwanese sesame sandwich (Shao Bing)
Shao bing (or Taiwanese sesame pancake/sandwich) is a typical breakfast fare in Taiwan which you can find all over market stalls in the streets of Taiwan. Although some may find it strange being bread on bread, the textures and crispiness from both inside and out make it a fantastic combination, especially coupled with sipping a hot soy bean milk on a cold winters day. Alternatively, you can fill it with an egg or make it a sweet snack with red bean or even nutella spread if you prefer. Enjoy!
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 mins

 

Makes 6

Ingredients

For the dough:
2 cups of plain flour
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Sesame seeds to sprinkle
1 chinese cruller (yo tiao)

For the roux:
½ cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of plain flour

Directions

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Start by making the roux, which basically helps create the layers to the pancake. Heat up a pan with the vegetable oil.
3. Add the 1 cup of plain flour and stir regularly until it reaches a light golden colour.
4. Just before it starts to burn, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

5. Next making the dough, in a bowl add the 2 cups of flour, salt and water and start kneading until it forms a dough.
6. Once a smooth dough is achieved, set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
7. Take out the dough and using a lightly floured surface, start rolling the dough with a rolling pin into a square until it is roughly 0.5cm thick.
8. Sprinkle the roux evenly all over the dough.
9. Carefully roll the dough away from you, with the roux encompassed until it forms a long roll.
10. Take a sharp knife and cut roughly 4cm thick pieces. You will see a lovely spiral pattern inside.
11. On a lightly floured surface, using the rolling pin, roll out one piece of the cut dough flat.
12. Fold the dough into thirds and roll again to form a rectangular shape, roughly 0.5cm thick.
13. Repeat on all the pieces of the cut dough.
14. In a bowl, roughly beat an egg. Take a brush and brush along the top of a dough piece with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. This will help the seeds stick and give that lovely golden colour after baking.
15. Repeat on all the pieces of dough.
16. Place all the dough flat on a lightly oiled pan and place in the oven.
17. Bake for roughly 15 minutes, until golden brown.
18. Turn all the pieces over and bake the other side for 5 minutes.
19. Remove from the oven and carefully cut, from the bottom side each piece along the grain in half.
20. Take the chinese cruller, cut into 6 pieces and then again in half along the stick. Taking two cut halves of a cruller, insert into each shao bing and serve immediately.
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