Happy Lunar New Year!

It's Lunar New Year tomorrow!

This year, I'm at home and was able to make things! Yey~

I started off making kueh bangkit.. which turned out as a bit of a fail because I ran out of tapioca starch. So instead of my usual little men, this was all I made:


Pineapple tarts again:


Agar goldfish, using the fish mould I got 1.5years ago in Singapore :)


And my attempt at Zumbo's macarons. I didn't realise his recipe was in bulk.. so I made a bit too many. I made pandan macarons with white pandan chocolate ganache/pandan custard! :) I used pandan paste, that's why they're that colour. I don't really like it though. I should've made them more green.. :/


Oh. And I also made some ice creams (not really Lunar New Year related). Yam and green tea. :D


Anywho, this will pretty much be the last amount of baking/cooking I'd be doing for a while.. (apart from M's cupcakes which I'll make tomorrow night). Then I'm off to HK and South Korea! Weee~ Hello Winter #1 of 2012! Glad to escape the burning sun for 3 weeks. :) And can't can't wait to get to Korea! :D

CNY: Pineapple tarts and strawberry hearts

This is my first time making these. And this is my last CNY bake for this year.

I had brought back some jam tart cookie cutters from Malaysia last year, and was itching to use them! I guess these are like jam thumbprint cookies, without the need to thumbprint them. Hehe. Because CNY falls on the same day as Valentine's Day, I made pineapple tarts and strawberry hearts! :)

Pineapple tarts using home made pineapple jam.

Strawberry hearts using store bought jam.

Hearts win! ;)

Pineapple tarts
Makes about 65

125g butter
275g plain flour
50g custard powder
80g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat egg yolks, butter, vanilla and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Sift in flour and custard powder.
Combine thoroughly and form a dough. Add more flour if too sticky still.


Roll out and use cookie cutters.


Place onto a lined baking tray.


Fill with jam. (See below for pineapple jam)


The two cookie cutters gave 6 designs. :D

Bake in a preheated oven at 160C for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.


Allow to cool before storing.

Pineapple jam

420g canned pineapple, drained and shredded
150g sugar

In a saucepan, cook pineapple and sugar on low heat until soft and mushy.
Continue to cook until most of the liquid is no longer there, and the mixture is of jam consistency.
Allow to cool before using.

Rushed sushi & pineapple milk

It's sushi again.


Came home from work and decided that I had enough energy to make sushi. Plus, the weather was too hot for hot food. Unfortunately... I was hungry. So it was rushed. I usually take photos before I eat. But this time I couldn't be bothered. I wasn't going to take photos at all actually, nor post this. And somehow I ended up doing so (I guess it was natural instinct that made me do so. I couldn't help it!). Haha. So here was what was left over. :P



Sushi with the works (They were gigantic!)
seafood mix, cooked
pan-fried teriyaki salmon
prawns, cooked
avocado, sliced
cucumber, sliced lengthwise
pickled radish, sliced lengthwise
japanese mayonnaise
roasted sesame seeds
cooked rice
furikake (rice seasoning, i used the salmon and roe one)
rice vinegar
sugar
nori sheets
wasabi, for dipping
premium soy sauce, for dipping

Cook rice. Mix in rice vinegar and sugar. Mix in furikake.
Leave to cool for a while.

Take nori, put a thin layer of the rice. Leave 2-3cm at the end uncovered with no rice.
Sprinkle sesame seeds, then add mayonnaise and any of the toppings at one end of the rice.
Roll up towards the riceless end. Leave untouched for a few minutes so that the nori can stick and close the roll.
Slice and serve with wasabi and soy sauce.

I made 4 gigantic rolls = ~8 normal length handrolls. And no, I did not eat them all. I would explode if I did. I was hungry, but now I'm too full. :(

And seeing as it was hot today, I made myself some pineapple milk. Yum yum! Haha. I've never tried it before. But there was still pineapple juice in the fridge (from when I made midori splice) and there was milk (of course, there's always fresh milk!). So I decided to mix the two. My sister looked at me weirdly, 'what? you're going to mix pineapple juice and milk? *raises eyebrow*'. UH HUH! And I liked it! It was very refreshing and not too sweet. I could have probably added in some midori to make it a splice wannabe.. but nahh. :)


Pineapple milk
3/4 quantity pineapple juice
1/4 quantity milk
ice

Mix together and drink when chilled.


Mmm. That was nice iced pineapple milk! :D