Steamed Egg Custard (season 2, episode 3)
Steamed Egg Custard. Photography by Danny Y. Huang.
Ingredients
4 Eggs
500 ml whole milk
4 tablespoon sugar (approx. 100g)
Cost: <$2.00
Instructions
- Warm 500 ml of milk and be careful not to let it boil over. Melt the 4 tablespoons of sugar in it. Let cool.
- Prepare a steamer with a bowl in it on high.
- Whisk 4 eggs and add to the cooled milk. Pour this into the bowl in the steamer and use a paper towel to remove froth on the sides. (Cover the bowl with plastic wrap for a better looking egg.)
- Steam for 10 mins. Serve immediately or chilled. If chilled, consider adding fresh cold fruits.
Steamed Egg Custard (season 2, episode 3)
Want to impress someone with a dessert but cannot bake? Try steaming.
Steamy Failure…or Not
Red Bean Cake. Steven P.S. Cheng.
So some of you might know what a red bean soup tastes like. You know, if you go to a decent Cantonese restaurant for dinner, they usually throw this in as dessert, especially on the West Coast. For those of you who don't, half close your eyes while you read:
Imagine a taste that is red and sensual, with light hints of earth that gently envelopes your tongue; feel the sugar inching its way up, and up... until...
this is the First Failure: you realize that you've put in too much dried citrus peel. Yes, damn it. Instead of something effervescent and delightful, what results is a musky cloth that sits on your tongue. Forget the coconut milk I added, my red bean soup failed.
My plan to give me a snack for the next few days failed. Saddened, I let the soup sit in the crock pot* while I stewed off my anger and disappointment. The next day -- yes, I'm a college student, and I forgot stuff that I've got cookin' -- after my classes, instead of taking a nap, because I thought that would be too much a waste of time, I decided to make a pastry with the red bean soup.
Read more...Red Bean Cake
[Read how I failed at making it, initially]
Red Bean Cake. Photo by Steven P.S. Cheng.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
1/2C Glutinous Rice Flour
1/4C Corn Starch
1/4C All Purpose Flour
1/4C Sugar
For the Soup:
250 g of Red Beans
(go to a health store and ask for Japanese Aki beans, the big ones, about 1/2 the size of a red kidney bean)
4 cups water
Sugar, to taste (use rock candy ideally, cf. Honeydew Melon Soup)
Optional: Coconut, Dried Citrus Peel, Lotus Seeds, Lily bulbs
Cost: $5
Instructions
For the red bean soup:
- Soak the optional dried lily bulbs and lotus seeds.
- Wash the beans and bring to a boil with around 4 cups of water in a pot.
- Let boil for around 10 mins, uncovered, then turn to simmer. Put the lid back on. Add sugar, dried citrus peel, about the size of a quarter, if you have it. Let it simmer for 4 hours.
(If you have a crock pot, put it in on low and leave overnight) - When you're ready to serve it, bring to a boil, add the canned coconut milk.
(shake well before opening, or mix well after opening before you add it to the hot soup, otherwise, clots will form) - Serve as a soup, chilled or hot, or in our case, use for the Red Bean Cake.
For the Dough
- Prepare a steamer. Add water and put heat on high. Ensure you have enough water for an hour's worth of steaming.
- Combine the flours and sugar and mix well before slowly adding in the hot red bean soup.
- Form a dough.
- Add in the remainder of the beans in the soup to the dough. ( Either drain the beans and add it to dough, or make sure your dough is a little on the dry side before adding in the beans out of the pot.)
- Place the mixed dough in a receptacle and steam for an hour.
(I used a pyrex bread tray and filled it halfway; if you're using something more shallow, reduce steaming time) - Remove from steamer and place in the fridge overnight.
- Slice and serve directly, or microwave the sliced pieces for 10-20 secs before serving. Alternatively, as I have done, pan fry it on a lightly coated pan and then serve with a mixture of sugar, and roasted sesames.
Eggs! (season 1, episode 1)
For steamed eggs
[Watch the episode]
Ingredients
2 Large Eggs
Equal amount of Water (~60-80ml depending on size of egg)
Spring onions
Sesame oil
Soy Sauce
Cost: ~$1*
*Assuming you have previously bought soy sauce (~$3) and sesame oil (~$3) that could last you a long time.
Instructions
- Prepare a steamer.
- Whip egg with water, pour into a shallow bowl (cover with a plate or plastic wrap for smoother surface appearance of egg when cooked)
- Steam for 10-12 mins, the consistency should be like soft tofu.
- Season to taste with soy sauce and/or sesame oil.
- Garnish with scallions/spring onions, finely chopped.
For the pan-fried shrimp omelette
[Watch the episode]
Ingredients
2 Eggs
5 Large Shrimps (or more)
1-2 stalks of Spring Onions
Salt
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Cost: <$3.00
Instructions
- Thaw shrimp, diced into approximated 1/3 " cubes.
(note: try to keep the dice of an even size, so shrimp cooks evenly and consistency of texture can be achieved) - With flame on high, preheat wok or skillet or frying pan with oil.
- Whip the eggs, add a pinch of salt, or more if you want a really savory omelette.
- Finely dice spring onions, add to eggs.
- When wok is hot, add diced shrimp, stir to ensure even heating. Remove immediately and add to egg mixture when shrimp turns pink and loses distinctive translucent appearance . Shrimp should be still succulent.
(Do not worry that it will be undercooked, the heat from cooking the omelette will complete the cooking process, and better still the moisture from the shrimp will infuse into the egg instead of evaporating; further, this minimizes chances of overcooking the shrimp, ensuring an omelette that has an interesting texture in the mouth). - With flame still on high, add more oil to the pan. Make sure amount of oil is enough to encircle omelette when you add the egg mixture. Have faith in yourself, trial and error works.
- When oil is hot, add in egg mixture. The color should change immediately, which the part in contact with the oil turning opaque. Move the pan and rotate it so that the uncooked egg proteins (translucent looking) is spread to the edge of the omelette, coming into contact with the excess oil, it should turn opaque on contact as well.
- Return pan to flame. Wait till the bottom turns golden brown, then flip the omelette. (judge either by gently lifting the omelette on the side, or when you smell the egg caramelizing--an earthy roasted flavor)
- When the other side has turn golden brown too, plate and add soy sauce and sesame oil. Serve hot.
Eggs! (season 1, episode 1)
2 of my favorite dishes. Enjoy the silky texture of simple steamed eggs and the subtle smokiness of a pan-fried shrimp omelette.
[Recipe]