Bunny Red Bean Bao Buns

To usher the Year of the Rabbit, I decided to make my bao buns in the shape of a bunny! Bunny Bao Buns!! These vegan bunny-shaped boa buns are ridiculously fluffy, soft, shinny and sooooooo cute.

The dough can be all be mixed into one bowl which is the best. And great news is no hand muscles needed to make this delicious bao buns, all just mix in a cake mixer. 

If you want to make a plain boa buns, you can go ahead and divide and shape the dough into a ball, let it rest and then steam. However, if you want to make a bunny shaped like this, have pink and black good colouring on hand!

You only need a little dough for the pink and black details. I then divided the remaining dough for 30g each balls. Once I had all my dough separated out, I lightly covered them with a tea towel to avoid them from drying out while I shaped each bunny.

You can make it a plain buns. I like mine filled with shop bough red beans paste. You can find the paste in any Asian shop.

 For the ingredients and method on how to make the buns but not shaping, following the link below:

https://yummymummyrecipes.blogspot.com/2019/06/steamed-bao-buns.html

To assemble the bunny:

To make the bunny ear and eyes, once the dough is all ready mixed, pinch about 25g for the plain dough and add the pink colouring to the dough and mix well. 

Again take about 10g of another plain dough and add the black colouring and mix well. Set aside separately both the pink and black dough and cover with a cling film to avoid dryness.

Put the packet of the red bean paste in freezer for about 4 hours. This will make the paste much easier to handle. Then take about 15g to 20g and shape them into balls. You can also freeze the red bean balls for easy handling.

You should get about 14-15 plain dough balls. Flatten and shaped the balls into circles, with the outer edge thinner than the centre.

Place the red bean ball in the centre and encase the filling with the dough. Press and seal the dough well. Slightly elongate the bun into an oval-egg shape. Place seam-side down into a piece of baking paper.

Create a pea-sized pink ball, about 14-15 pink balls for the tail, another pea-sized of 14-15 pink dough for the ears (divide the dough into 2 to make a pair of ear) and a buckwheat-sized black dough balls for the pair of eyes. Adhere all pieces with a touch of water.

Allow to rise, covered, for 30 minutes.

Steam in a bamboo steamer for 10 minutes, and serve immediately.

Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 5 days, or frozen for 2 months.

Bunny shape Pineapple Tart

Why are Pineapple Tarts used in Chinese New Year?

Serving any kind of sweet dessert is encouraging during Chinese New Year because it symbolises bringing a sweet life into the new year. The Hokkiens also consider certain fruits auspicious, and they are particularly fond of pineapple, ong lai in Hokkien dialect,which literally means " fortune come".

What are Pineapple Tarts?

Pineapple tarts are addictive bite-sized buttery goodies filled with pineapple jam. Made with butter and egg yolk, melt-in-your-mouth texture which is loved by many Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Its jam is usually sweet yet tart, and often made with fresh pineapples.

Here is the link to my Pineapple Tart recipe.

https://yummymummyrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/06/pineapple-tart.html

Year of Rabbit Yee Sang

 Gong Xi Fa Chai!, Kiong Hee Huat Chai, Kong Hei Fatt Choy!, Selamat Tahun Baru China, Happy Chinese New Year, Xīnnián kuàilè, 新年快乐 !!!

Chinese New Year wouldn't be complete without a few key things; angpows, resplendent reunion dinner and of course, Yee Sang. Yee Sang is something that is uniquely Malaysian. 

Yee Sang, dubbed YuSheng or Prosperity Toss, is a common ritual done on Chinese New Year to signify an auspicious start to the year. Yee Sang is a type of salad that is traditionally prepared with raw fish, carrots, white radish, pickled ginger, pomelo, peanuts, sesame seeds, crackers, five spice powder, pepper, oil and plum sauce. Every ingredient represents prosperous meanings: pomelo and carrot for luck, white radish for promotion at work and fish for abundance. 

The dish is then assembled on a plate for the Prosperity Toss (lou hei) in which the vegetables are first beautifully laid on a plate, excluding peanuts, sesame seeds, crackers, powders, oil and sauce, which auspicious saying are uttered while the final ingredients are added. Then diners will toss the ingredients into the air with more auspicious wishes. This is why the dish's actual name is Lou Hei Yee Sang (捞起魚生) 

Where Did Yee Sang Come From?

Although instinctively one would assume Yee Sang comes from China, its current iteration that we all know so well was actually birthed in Malaysia itself. Legend has it that the original Yee Sang was created by Loke Ching Fatt, originally a Cantonese immigrant from China, in the 1940s who owned a small catering business called Loke Ching Kee in the sleepy town of Seremban. As Malaya was going through recovery from World War II, Loke decided to pivot his business by creating the Lo Hei Yee Sang, a dish was inspired by the Chinese celebration of Ren Ri (人日), the 7thday of the Chinese New Year, where humanity was created according to myth. As it was common for the Cantonese to eat raw fish on that day, Loke decided to create the dish we know and love today, taking some inspiration from not only Cantonese culture, but Teochew and Hokkien cultures which were prevalent in Malaya as well. The dish was also prepared intentionally ritualistic, ensuring that the flavour and colours are observed for the auspicious new year. In the past, Grass Carp (waan jyu, 鯇魚) would be used, where they would be starved for a few days to ensure all impurities are gotten rid of before slicing up for the preparation, however, today salmon would be the most common form of preparation.

Winter Pear & Ginger Trifle

Wow your guests with this delicious winter Ginger Trifle-individual desserts made with sweet and sticky ginger cake, layered with fresh pears, custard and cream. They are so simple to make and are sure to become a family favourite.

I love sweet sticky Jamaica Ginger Cake. It's a cake that he been around for over 50 years and still delicious. These individual Jamaica Ginger Cake  & Pear Trifles are really simple to make. You just need to assemble the ingredients and you have a fabulous dessert.

Ingredients:

Pear compote:

• 4-5 fresh firm pears
• 3 tbsp soft light brown sugar

For the trifle:

• 500g Jamaican Ginger Cake, cut into cubes
• 400ml double cream
• 8-10 tbsp Cointreau orange liqueur/sherry, for non-alcoholic, use orange or pear juice
• 500g fresh custard or shop bought
• 5 crushed ginger biscuits
• edible glitter & chocolate gingerbread man/Christmas tree/reindeer, optional or decoration

Method:

Pear Compote: Peel and core the pears and cut into cubes. 

Place the pear with brown sugar in a saucepan and heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the pears begin to give off a little liquid. Turn down to a simmer leave to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Whipped Cream: Whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks. Set aside in the fridge until ready to assemble the trifles.

Assemble the trifle: Take your chosen serving dish/bowl and place a layer of ginger cake cubes in the base. Drizzle the cake layer with the liqueur or juice. 

Top with a layer of compote.

On top of this add a layer of custard.

Repeat the layers of ginger cake, liqueur/juice and pear compote.

Add a top layer of whipped cream.

Sprinkle with some crushed ginger biscuits.

Finally top with chocolate gingerbread man/Christmas tree/reindeer and a sprinkle of magical edible glitter.

Free Standing Raspberry Trifle

Looking to make a trifle with a twist and I came across this recipe from https://onlycrumbsremain.com

It looks very impressive when you sliced it like how we slice a cake!  It is less messy than the normal trifle in a large clear glass bowl.

Ingredients:

Custard:

• 3 tbsp custard powder
• 2 tbsp golden castor sugar
• 450ml milk

Jelly layer:

• 250g raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 raspberry jelly
• 4 trifle sponges

For decoration:

• 50g milk chocolate
• 200ml double cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• edible lustre powder glitter, optional

Method:

Custard: Line the loaf with a layer cling film. Combine 3 tablespoon custard powder and 2 tablespoon castor sugar with a little of the 450ml milk. Stir to form a smooth paste. Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan until just coming to the boil. Slowly stir the hot milk into the custard powder mixture then return to the pan. Cook over a low heat until thickened.

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent a skin forming. Pour the custard into the lined tin and place in the refrigerator until completely set.

Jelly layer: Make the jelly as per the packet instructions. Arrange about 250g of raspberries in a layer over the custard. Pour over a little of the jelly and pop the tin back into the fridge until the jelly has just set. Cut the trifle sponges in half and arrange on top of the raspberries and spoon over some more jelly until the sponges just begin to float, then pop back into the refrigerator to set again. Finally pour over the remaining jelly and chill for 2 hours.

To complete: Meanwhile, make the chocolate decorations, line a tray with baking paper. Draw pencil shapes on the paper of stars or Christmas trees to use as an outline. Turn the paper over.

Break 50g chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of gentle simmering water. Ensure the water doesn't touch the base of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the heat. Spoon the chocolate into a small paper piping bag.

Pipe the outline of the chocolate shapes, using your pencil markings as a guide the pipe lines of chocolate back and forth to fill with a lacy effect. Ensure the chocolate lines are thick enough to prevent the shapes from breaking when they are removed from the tray. Allow to set in a cool place until required.

When the trifle is completely set. Turn out onto a serving platter.

Whisk 200ml double cream with 1 tbsp icing sugar and ½ tsp vanilla extract until just standing in soft peaks. Spoon the cream into the piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe the cream on top of the custard.

Using a small brush dust the chocolate shapes with lustre powder if desired then carefully remove from the baking paper and transfer to the trifle to decorate. For extra sparkle flick a little more lustre powder or glitter around the sides and over the top of the trifle.

Serve!!

Mince Pie Martini

With the Christmas season just around the corner, it's time to start feeling a little bit more merry. And what better way to help you get into the festival spirit, then with a festive cocktail!

Mince pie- in a glass! Yup you heard it right. This Christmas-tasting drink tastes and looks delicious.

Ingredients:

For the mincemeat syrup

• 100g golden castor sugar
• 50g mincemeat

For the garnish

• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 4 tsp mixed spice

For the cocktail

• 4 tsp mincemeat
• 100ml gin
• 100ml sweet red vermouth
• 20ml dark rum

Method:

To make a mincemeat syrup, put 100ml water, the golden caster sugar and mincemeat in a pan and bring to the boil. Cool and strain though muslin into a sieve. Separately, mix the caster sugar and mixed spice, then dampen the rims of 4 martini glasses and dip in the sugar and spice mixture.

Muddle the mincemeat in a cocktail shaker, then add the gin, sweet red vermouth, dark rum, 80ml mincemeat syrup and ice. Shake well and strain into your prepared glass.

Enjoy!