How to Make Yogurt in the Microwave

This summer, prices for a gallon of milk has gone down tremendously - only $1.49 for a gallon.  Thus making homemade yogurt less expensive.although it is already so much less than the store-bought ones.  Making your own  helps you control the amount of fat you consume but i find that whole milk yogurt is richer and tastes the best. Fruits and berries are of abundance and cheap too,  so do add as much or varieties into your yogurt, it is a real treat. Yogurt-making in any other way is a lengthy project, but using the microwave to make yogurt can save you some time in the process

 Ingredients:

Glass bowl

4 cups fresh milk
1/4 cup powdered milk (adding this gives a better texture)
2 tbsp. plain yogurt with active cultures  - from the supermaket is fine or leftover from a previous homemade batch

Food thermometer

Microwave

Plastic wrap

Dish towel



Method:
Take the plain yogurt out of the fridge and leave it out on the counter  - it has to be at room temp. (Yogurt will take a longer time to set if cold yogurt is used)

Pour 4 cups of fresh milk into a glass bowl that is safe to use in a microwave. Choose skim milk for a nonfat yogurt or whole milk for a richer yogurt. (i put  the milk in the container that the completed yogurt will be stored in the fridge - save me washing the glass bowl)

Add 1/4 cup powdered milk and stir well.

Put the bowl of milk in the microwave and heat it on high power for 3 - 4 minutes. The temperature of the milk should reach 175 - 180  degrees F. (Time to reach 175 - 180 f depends on the wattage of your microwave)  After 4 minutes or more, check the temperature with a food thermometer.(Cooking the milk is to kill unnecessary bacteria present)

Allow the milk to cool down for a few minutes. Keep the thermometer in the bowl and let it cool down until the temperature reads 100 degrees F(Higher temp will kill the culture)

Add 2 tbsp.plain yogurt with active cultures to the milk. This serves as your starter. Stir well.

Cover the bowl with milk and yogurt with plastic wrap (my container has a lid, so i just close it with the lid)and wrap a dish towel around it to provide additional insulation.(It is hot now, summer, so i do not need to wrap with a dish towel, i left it on the counter).

The yogurt will be set eventually and when set, put in the refrigerator to chill, it will set further.(If you like your yogurt sour, keep it longer on the counter before chilling in the fridge)

Enjoy with fruits, granola etc, anything your heart desires.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received this  ALL-BRAN Bran Buds from Kellogg's and i have been enjoying it with my yogurt every morning.  Thank you Kellogg's.

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 Serves

Taro Crunch

When i was shredding taro for Yee Sang, i remembered this snack.  I shredded more taro and made this forgotten snack which was so crunchy.  The taro is sometimes called the "potato" of the humid tropics and indeed it is - a good taro will be fluffy in texture just like the potato.  Taro is quite costly and choosing a good one which will be fluffy is crucial to your pocket and the dish you will be preparing. For a good fluffy taro, choose one that is shaped like a vase - narrow on the top and bottom, wide in the middle and it has to be as smooth as possible - no bumps or knotches.  Bumps mean that the taro has been constricted from growing well and that it has been grown in muddy soil.  Taro grown in sandy soil, grows well and will be fluffy. I have given up buying taro with skin on and have been buying peeled ones, although peeled ones are very much more expensive, at least i can see that the taro will be fluffy and not rotten. 

Taro is so versatile and there are endless recipes which are classics, below are some of the tested recipes -

Woo Tau Koh
Taro fatt koh
Woo Tau Kow Yoke

Woo kok
Taro Shredds

Taro and black-eyed pea cake
Taro fragrant rice
Sueen poon cheeBubur Cha Cha

Fried Nin Ko

There are many more recipes that i would like to try - like Or Nee, Taro Cake, Taro Filling for mooncake and many more.

Ingredients:

1 lb shredded taro
1 cup roasted peanuts - chopped
½ cup sesame seeds
3 - 5 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1 tsp salt.
Water to bind




Method:

Mix all the ingredients, followed by a little water to bind ingredients.

Heat oil for deep frying and when oil is 350f, using the chopstick, pick up a little taro shreds and deep fry till golden brown and crispy.

Drain well and let cool before storing.

Serves

Seaweed and Rice - Renee and Alexander's Lunch

After all the feasting during the Chinese New Year Celebration, Renee and Alexander were very happy just to have plain rice with seaweed.

Ingredients:

Plain Rice - warm
Seaweed
Cute Moulds

Method:

Pack warm rice into moulds and then decorate with seaweed.

Serves

Yee Sang Prep - Day 2 - Taro Shreds

Yee Sang is actually a salad and i am surprised that so many people including asians, do not know or have eaten this dish.  Read about it from here.  This salad consists of all the tastes and texture to teast your palate and color to please your eyes.  Crunchiness is one of them and taro shreds fried until crispy in 2 colors is one of the ingredients.



Ingredients:

Fresh taro
Red food coloring
Green food coloring
Oil for deep frying
Method:

Shred fresh taro with a mandoline and if the taro has been frozen, it would have to sliced thin and then julienned cos the taro will be too soft to pass through the mandoline.








Color a portion of the taro shreds with green food coloring

















Color another portion with red food coloring

















Heat enough oil for deep frying and when oil is hot - 350f - deep fry the shreds until crispy.  Remove from oil and let it drain.










Repeat the deep frying for the green colored taro shreds.











When cooled, store in airtight container.





Serves

Black Bean Sauce

I love these make ahead sauces and black bean is one of my most favorite. It is build with a few fresh ingredients for preparing impressively quick and bright tasting meals.

In Chinese black fermented beans is called Douchi/Dau see - read about it in Wikipedia

Try this sauce out in Steamed Pork Ribs and the traditional chinese Clams dishes.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dried fermented black beans

1 bulb garlic - peeled
5 shallots - peeled
1 large piece ginger - skin removed
1 cup cooking oil

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1/2 cup shaoxing wine
Sugar and pepper to taste
Optional –chopped jalepeno peppers to taste

Sesame oil

Method

Rince black beans and drain well. Put into bowl, using a wooden spoon or fork, gently mash the black beans a few times slightly to release its flavor and pour shaoxing wine over. Allow to soak.

Using the chopper or food processor, mince the garlic, shallots and ginger until fine.

Heat oil and saute the minced garlic, shallots,ginger and chopped jalapeno peppers(if using) until fragrant, then add in the soaked black beans together with the wine. Allow it to come to the boil and adjust the taste with sugar and pepper.

Allow to cool, then put sauce into sterilized jar and top with sesame oil. Keep in the fridge.

Serves

Wan Pin Kou

It snowed so badly yesterday and today and i am snowed in. I made this as the whiteness of this snack sort of resembled the snow. This is a very traditional snack of yesteryears. It used to be in a rectangular cut shaped snack packed in pink paper and i wonder if it is still so. There is no flavorings or colorings whatsoever, just sweet and white, that is why it is packed in pink paper cos chinese associates white with death. I think this snack looks more appealing with patterns and a filling to enhance the taste. It is easy and fun to make but has to be consumed when freshly made as it will get hardened fast in high altitude, even in air-tight containers, perhaps it is better at sea-level places.

Ingredients:

Cookie:

100 gm. Koh fun (cooked glutinous rice flour)

80 gm. icing sugar

20 gm. Crisco shortening

1/4 tsp. Vanillin powder

30 - 40 gm. cold water

Filling:

Hawflakes/Chopped roasted peanuts/Pineapple Jam

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for the cookie together - it should look like breadcrumbs, add more water if you have to.

Fill mould with some koh fun mixture, place some filling on top then fill mould with more koh fun mixture

Press hard to have a very vivid pattern, remove excess if there is any and knock it to remove.

This cookie/snack is ready for serving.

Enjoy

Serves

Cassava Fritters/Ketuk Ubi

I love everything cassava/tapioca/yucca/ubi kayu and have not had these fritters for quite awhile. I have refrained from buying the fresh cassava as they have become moldy and shrivered and that is the sign of a dead root. In Malaysia, the root has to be consumed as soon as it has been harvested so, it is a strange sight for me, seeing them for sale in the asian store's shelf. I am enlightened by the fact that these roots are treated with wax to prevent them from getting moldy and save to eat. Thanks Chan, for letting me know and allowing me to enjoy and making all the goodies that can be dished out from them.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked cassava

1 cup grated coconut - white only

1/2 cup sugar

a pinch of salt

Oil for frying

Batter:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornflour/cornstarch

1 tbsp rice flour

1 tsp double action baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cooking oil

3/4 cup/6 fl oz/180 ml water

Method:

Prepare the batter by mixing all the batter ingredients and leave aside.

Heat oil until 350f. While oil is getting hot, prepare the cassava balls by mixing all the ingredients together and making into golf size balls.

When oil has reached 350f, dip balls into batter and put into hot oil to deep fry. Do not crowd the wok and crank up the heat and removing some hot oil from the wok, at the last stage of frying. Removing some oil will allow the temp. of oil to rise higher and faster and this way, the balls will be not be soggy. When balls are golden brown, remove and drain on an overturn cake rack which is sitting on kitchen towels - the excess oil will drip down and since the balls are not touching the kitchen towels, they will not soak back the oil while cooling.

Pour back the removed oil and finished frying the rest of the balls.

Note:

Noticed the long one? I have left some cooked cassava unmashed and dipped them in batter to fry. Try it this way, it is just as delicious.

Serves

Green Bean Sweetened Soup

This Summer has been the busiest and happiest as i have the pleasure of entertaining friends from Malaysia, and i have been neglecting my blog and so many other things. I did not even realised that the the holy month of Ramadan has already started a few days ago until i received an email from Karr Wei, who posted my Kuih Bakar on the StarMetro, a sunday section of The Star. The article can be found as Simple Delightful Kuih



To all Malaysians and everyone who is observing this holy month, i wish you all the best and Selamat Buka Puasa


Ingredients:

1 cup mung beans/green beans - washed and soaked for 1 - 2 hrs
1/2 cup dried kelp (海带)
Granulated sugar/Rock sugar to taste


Method:

Put soaked beans and kelp in a pressure cooker and top with enough water to reach to 1/2 of the 6 quarts pr essure cooker. Close the lid and cook on high - 15 lbs pressure for 30 minutes - time starts when the 15 lbs of pressure has been reached, that is the pot will be hissing like crazy. Reduce heat to maintain 15lbs pressure.

Release pressure before opening the lid.

Check the beans for desired softness (cook further if it is not ready).

Add enough of sugar according to taste and bring the soup back to the boil and cook until sugar has dissolved.

Enjoy

Chai Choy/Vegetarian Delight

This would be my vegetable dish when i ran out of greens. The only fresh ingredients are the Nappa Cabbage or ordinary cabbage and carrots, the rest are dried. There are many ingredients involved but even with a few ingredients less, this dish will be very flavorful especially if the sauce is right. This is a classic to the vegetarian and it can be a meal by itself for there are so many nutricious ingredients involved. Although this is a vegetable dish, dried oysters can be added for flavor and oysters are acceptable and considered vegetarian.

Ingredients:
4 tbsps cooking oil
2 pieces fermented beancurd(preferably the red type which is called 'nam yee'

1/2 cup dried oysters - soaked(optional)
8 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and halved
1 lb Nappa cabbage, sliced
1 carrot, sliced

6 - 8 pieces Fried tofu (tofu pok) - halves

3 long pieces dried bean curd (foo chook) - soaked and break into small pieces

1/2 cup black fungus - Wan yee - soaked

1/2 cup lily bulbs - soaked and tied into knots

1 small bundle glass noodles - soaked

Seasonings:

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 cup water

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp sesame oil

Method:

In a wok, heat oil and stir-fry fermented beancurd until fragrant. Add oysters (if using),mushrooms, cabbage and carrot. Stir-fry until cooked through.

Add in the rest of the ingredients except the soaked glass noodles and the seasonings

Bring to the boil, add the seasonings, then reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer.

Add in the glass noodles and continue to simmer, you might have to add in more water/stock if the sauce has thickened too much. Do no be afraid to add more water/stock as the glass noodle will swell and soak up all the goodness.

Simmer until sauce has thickened.

Dish up and sprinkle with sesame oil.

Serve hot.

Serves

Putu Mayam/String Hoppers

BEFORE

AFTER

Putu Mayam is one of my favorites when i was a child which is a long long time ago. During that time, hawkers come to your doorstep, they will promptly be at your street, the same time everyday, some on bicycles, push carts and some on foot. Recalling some of these friendly hawkers who had become friends from our frequent beckonings, bring fond memories especially the Kacang Putih man, who will call me LULU. The Kacang Putih man and the Putu Mayam man were Indian, so, i have always assoicated Putu Mayam as an Indian Cuisine and indeed it is - a Sri Lankan Delight. I only realised that this light and satisfying snack was called 'String Hoppers" when i was able to read.

Making Putu Mayam was fun while it lasted, my arm muscles had improved from all the pressing - the texture of the dough had to be just right to fasilitate easy flow of noodles.

Putu Mayam has to be fluffy and dry, the strands of noodles, be the fineness ever and to achieved this, one has to have the proper size template to be used in a 'muruku mould'. I made a template out of a plastic jar cover and pricked very tiny holes in it. My first batch of Putu Mayam turned out to be thick beehoon and loh see fun, luckily the template worked and i succeeded making a batch of Putu Mayam to satisfy me.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice flour

2 tbsp tapioca starch
550 ml boiling water
1-2 tsp salt
1 cup grated coconut - white only - steam with 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Parchment papers - perforated to make steam holes

A Muruku Press with a very fine template/Putu Mayam Press

Method:

Line basket for steaming with a clean napkin, put in the dry rice flour, steam for about 1 hour.

Put the rice flour and tapioca starch in a bowl. Pour boiling water, add salt all at once onto the flour, stirring with the handle of a wooden spoon until the flour is moistened. When cool enough, gather it together with the hand and ensure there are no pockets of dry flour by kneading lightly.

Fill Muruku/Putu Mayam Press with enough dough, squeeze dough through the fine holes in the Press at the same time moving the Press over each parchment paper, so that the fine strings fall in two circles.

Repeat making noodles and when done, put the noodles to steam over fast boiling water for 5 - 8 minutes or until noodles are cooked and translucent.

Remove from steamer, allow to cool slightly, then gently peel the putu mayam off the parchment paper away.

Serve with steamed coconut and brown sugar.

Enjoy

Serves

Daikon Kimchi

My son-in-law likes kimchi fresh, so i will only make small batches as often as needed. Making this kimchi is not difficult, only alot of prep, but it is worth while making it at home cos it is fresher and very much less expensive.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 cups peel daikon cut into chunks

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp Korean chili powder

1 piece ginger - about 1/2 inch - grated

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

1 tsp salted shrimp

1 tbsp soya sauce

½ cup chopped scallions

1 tbsp glutinious rice flour plus 1/4 cup water - mix well

3 tbsp chopped onions(optional)

3 tbsp chopped carrots(optional)

Method:

Toss daikon chunks in a bowl with salt, let sit for 1 to 2 hours. Wash and drain.

Cook glutinious rice flour mixture for 1 minute in the microwave until it is cooked.

Combine sugar, chili powder, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, shrimp and soy sauce and cooked glutinous rice flour, stir. If very thick, add a little warm water.

Stir in scallions, onions, carrots( if using) and drained daikon chunks.

Serve right away or cover and refrigerate; kimchi will keep for 1 to 2 weeks and become stronger over time.

Serves

Jindo Mock Spareribs

Tofu skin also known as dried beancurd, yuba or bean skim, is a Chinese and Japanese food product made from soybeans. During the boiling of soy milk, in an open shallow pan, a film or skin composed primarily of a soy protein-lipid complex forms on the liquid surface. The films are collected and dried into yellowish sheets known as tofu skin or soy milk skin. Because it is derived directly from soy milk, the name tofu skin is technically inaccurate. Due to it slightly rubbery texture, tofu skin is also manufactured in bunched, folded and wrapped forms that are used as meat substitutes in vegetarian cuisine. Tofu skins can be wrapped and then folded against itself to make doù baō (Chinese: 豆包, literally "tofu package").


Ingredients:

1/2 lb dou bao/tofu package

1/2 lb carrot

Cornflour/tapioca for dusting

2 cups oil

Seasoning

1/4 tsp 5-spice powder

1 tbsp milk powder

1 tsp rice wine

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp soaya sauce

5 tbsp cornflour/tapioca flour

1 tbsp sesame oil

Sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Method:

Marinate dou bao for at least 20 minutes.

Cut carrot into 1/2 inch x 2 inches x 1 inch.

Cut dou bao into 2 inches strips and wrap it around a piece of carrot. Secure with a toothpick.

Heat oil until hot, dust each vegetarian sparerib with cornflour/tapioca flour and drop into hot oil.

Fry until golden brown.

Garnish with coriander and serve with sauce.

Serves

Sweet And Sour Gluten Puffs

Typical dishes incorporating sweet and sour sauces are sweet and sour pork or chicken balls, sweet and sour prawns or sweet and sour stir-fried vegetable. I am going to introduce Sweet and Sour Gluten Puffs which is fun to make and to eat. This dish is dedicated to all vegetarians who i hope will enjoy this dish as much as i do. Many people find combining sweet and savoury foods together a little strange for their palettes, however, the sweet and sour dishes are possibly the most popular when visiting a Chinese restaurant.

Ingredients:

8 ozs Fried Gluten Puffs

Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tbsp shaoxing wine

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable stock/water

White pepper

Method:

Combine the ketchup, sugar, rice vinegar, pepper and salt in a small bowl, and set it aside.

Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold water in another small bowl, and set it aside.

Heat wok and pour in the vegetable stock and add in the fried gluten puffs. Cook until puffs are soft and heat through.

Add the ketchup mixture and bring to a boil.

Add the cornstarch mixture and stir-fry until the puffs are coated with sauce and the sauce comes to a boil again(this is to ensure that the cornstarch is cooked through).

Serve immediately.

Serves