An Old Favourite

Hel-lo Chawanmushi!

Do you like eggs? I LOVE EGGS! When I was 16, I wrote an essay in school about how much I love eating eggs. I also once gave a 10 minute speech in class about how much I love eating instant noodles....but that is another story for another day.

Eggs, fried, poached, scrambled, steamed, half-boiled, hard-boiled, tossed with fried rice, all mushy in a good bowl of instant noodles.....yes I go eggy for them eggs!

Unfortunately, as age catches up, so does one's cholesterol level. So, with much reluctance, I have gradually cut down my intake of eggs. I know I could just eat the whites and skip all the bad cholesterol but what's the point? The yolk is the best part! 

On Monday, after a particularly tense afternoon, I decided that the only way to revitalize my sagging spirits was to make some familiar comfort food. I have quite a list of comfort foods but something told me that it was time to start cracking those eggs and make Chawanmushi!

I've made Chawanmushi many times and it never fails to induce happiness in both my husband and I as we spoon the eggy goodness in our mouths. Of course, the key to good Chawanmushi is that it must be savoury, silky and smooth. Most people add chicken slices or fishcake in theirs but I like mine plain. Normally I get too lazy to type out recipes but I shall make an exception and share this one!

I had to tear myself away from devouring my
Chawanmushi to take this photo

Chawanmushi Recipe

Makes 3-4 servings

- 3 eggs

- 1 can of chicken stock (You can omit this  for 300ml of water but try not to!)

- 1 tablespoon mirin

- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce

1. Crack 3 eggs in a large bowl and stir gently with a fork to mix them all up

2. Pour stock into egg mixture and add the mirin and soya sauce

3. Again, very gently, mix the entire thing up, the aim is to create as little bubbles as possible so that your Chawanmushi will be smooth.

4. Sieve mixture into Chawanmushi cups, discard all the globby bits that will not go through your sieve.

5. Cover cups with or if your cups don't come with covers, use aluminium foil

6. Steam for about 10mins and voila! Jelly, silky smooth Chawanmushi!

Kiwi Cupcakes

I started out last Friday wanting to make some fruit tarts but clever old me forgot to buy digestive crackers for the tart base so I decided to switch things around and make Kiwi cupcakes instead.

I made a plain Vanilla cupcake base and through some quick surfing on the net, got some ideas for a Kiwi cream cheese topping. To decorate my cupcake, I added a slice of Kiwi fruit on top.

Nothing like a yummy dessert, yeah baby, yeah!

Verdict: This is possibly one of the best cupcakes I ever made! The tangy Kiwi went really well with the cream cheese and the topping in turn went splendidly with the Vanilla cupcake. Mmmmmmmm..........the cupcake was a big hit at our gathering and we all went home with our sweet tooth satiated. As always i wish I decorated it abit better but I have never been a skilled decorator to start with, maybe because by the time I reach this point, I just want to sink my teeth into the goodies!

Ok....I also confess that at this crucial moment, I am also busy dipping my fingers in the topping and finding extra kiwi slices to mop up that Kiwi cream cheese......more! more! more!!!

French Loaves

Freshly Baked!

Two weekends ago, I decided to make my own French loaves to accompany a curry dish. As always, I expected alot of mess during my first attempt but it turned out to be a surprisingly fun and fuss-free experience. I think its probably because I usually bake my own bread anyway so this was not a far deviation from what I was already doing. That said, the most exciting part of the entire process came when I had to throw a cup of water in the hot oven to create steam for that crusty French loaf exterior. 

There is absolutely nothing like the smell of fresh bread wafting through the house and that is what I always enjoy from the experience of bread making. I have to confess I am not a big fan of actually eating the bread (ironic I know!) but I totally dig that distinct bakery smell and these French loaves were no exception.

My only regret was in not shaping one of them properly, the one on the left has a crooked top and I think I was supposed to cut the slits before the second proofing and not after. Well, better luck next time!

Just before baking

Right texture and right consistency
but could look better!