Soft Chewy Mochi

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I did mochi today because I had super intense cravings on a good soft chewy mochi skin, it was awesome!


I always liked Japanese mochi ice cream but never liked the mochi that are sold in supermarkets. The nice ones from Japan are really expensive here, so I decided to make my own. You’ll be surprise how cheap these ingredients will be.


Recipe for Soft Chewy Mochi

(Yields about 15 mochi)


(THE CHEWY SKIN)

100 g of glutinous rice flour
35 g sugar
200 ml coconut milk

*Some cooked glutinous rice flour for dusting




1. Whisk all the ingredients till smooth.
2. Pour into a well greased bowl.
3. Steam at middle high heat for about 25 mins.
(I steam mine in a rice cooker)
4. Once ready, take out and loosen up the dough a little using a spoon.
5. Dust a good amount of cooked glutinous rice flour on your work table and start to stretch and knead to a flat rectangle. Careful the dough will be hot. If too hot too handle, let cool a little.
6. Cut the dough into desired sizes and wrap your fillings into the dough.
7. Final coat of cooked glutinous rice flour before placing them into cupcake liners.


* Cooked glutinous rice flour
How to: Fry the flour under really low heat until it becomes light and fluffy. If your flour turned brown, it’s over cooked.



The Mochi filling

You can fill the filling of mochi with almost anything! Some examples are:

– Ice cream (make sure your dough is cooled by the time you wrap these 😁)

– Fruits like mango, strawberries and kiwi (Either you wrap them up as a whole fruit or blend the fruits with whipped cream and freeze them in ice cubes)

– Sweet fillings like red bean paste, yam paste, crushed peanuts with sugar, sesame paste (You can use store bought)

Since I have some crushed peanuts and peanut better left, so I made some. I did not do any weighing for these so I won’t be providing the actual weights of ingredients.

Peanut fillings

– Store bought crushed peanuts
(They usually comes sweetened with sugar, but you can add a little more sugar if you like it sweeter, afterall what’s a dessert when it’s “less sweet” right?)
– Some peanut butter (you omit this)
– Some water

Add all these into a bowl to get a somehow wet yet not clumpy texture. Look at my 1st picture, the peanut mixture is darker in colour but they do not clump into a ball.



These can be eaten straight away, or store them in an air tight container before placing them into the fridge for a cold dessert.

The freshly made ones have a more soft texture while the cold ones will have a more chewy texture but they both will taste just as good.



Do link me up if you successfully tried this recipe! Can’t wait to see your pretty mochi soon!

LOVE,
Judy Bakez

One Year Post Op

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On 22.11.2018 marks my 1 year jaw op anniversary!! Yay!!! Of all the jaw blogs i have read, i have almost could not find updates about surgery recoveries after 1 year or more. Thus, i would like to give a little more updates to prepare for those who are in the process or are still in doubt.

If you have read all my previous jaw posts, by now you would have more and less knew what i had gone through:- my horrible recovery! I was in so much pain and mental torture ( i didn’t want to scare you because i had quite a good share of fear too!) My recovery wasn’t smooth, it was way more difficult and longer than almost all stories i have read or heard (therefore don’t worry, you couldn’t be worst).

I had little swelling every once in a while on my right cheek at my lower jaw (they hurt), even thou i was fully recovered. I had some numbness and tightness on my chin during my 8 months post op and was prepared to live with this for the rest of my life but i was wrong.

I’m not sure when the tightness went away but it was gone. Probably i start when i started working on this chin with some movements and stretching. Facial exercises are really important if you want a good recovery, it is the same with any post surgery you will need therapy, especially people like me who are already in the 30s, depending on how major your surgery is, our recovery is not really as excellent as before.

At my 1 year post op mark, these are the few things i can sum up:

  • I could chew beef and nuts with no difficulties
  • My front teeth (jaw) has not regain 100% strength, probably 80%
  • No pain / numbness / tightness feeling anymore
  • I look much more approachable and friendlier now
  • I could feel bones in my fish with my tongue now (if you get what i mean)
  • I could chew with all my teeth
  • I have a wonderful smile which gives me so much more confidence
  • I read alot about people claiming pain/ache in jaw when the weather is cold, but it never happened to me
  • The screws and plates are here to stay in your face as long as it doesn’t cause inflammation. They are designed to be accepted by our body.

 

Jaw surgery is a major surgery, so DO take all necessary vitamins to build your immune system in preparation of the surgery. I used alot of Young Living Oils to aid my recovery and to manage my pain instead of medications.

I visited Dr Cheng for my 6 months review on 21.11.2018 and he says that everything is good! My teeth are settling well in their positions, however i have just 1 naughty tooth that seems to rotate a little which Dr Cheng says he could fix it if it really bothers me. My visit to Dr Clement Lye will be next month.

Overall, i feel jaw surgery is one of the best decision i ever made! Patience is the key. It takes months and months for you to be able to see the perfect change. I gained back my weight but still looking way better than before!

If you have any questions/doubts/fear, feel free to pm me on my facebook or instagram and i’ll try my best to answer your questions =D

 

Follow my jaw surgery album to get photo updates~  

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Easy Chocolate Sponge Cake

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Chocolate has always been everyone’s favorite (almost everyone), thanks to its unique, rich, and sweet taste.

While some may feel guilty on eating chocolate because of its bad reputation for causing weight gain, a number of health issues may also be associated with this delicious treat, however, there are also a number of health benefits on this sinful treat!

Chocolate is believed to contain high levels of antioxidants and some studies have suggested chocolate could lower cholesterol levels and prevent memory decline, if there isn’t high fat and sugar content in this one treat.

Putting cocoa powder and controlling the amount of sugar you can put in one dessert enables you to enjoy this without much guilt, at least to me.

I have always love sponges of any kind, soft and fluffy ones always makes excited. There’s 2 ways to make a sponge cake:- Egg separation method and the whole egg method.
I didn’t understand why my whole egg method always fail on me not giving me the best of the cake. Hence, i have grown to using the more tedious egg separate method for all cakes. They always turn out super light and fluffy.

Once you get the hang of making good sponges, you’re almost good to do all kinds of basic cakes!

Recipe for Chocolate Sponge Cake

Ingredients

  • 3 Egg whites (large)
  • 100 grams sugar (i divided into 2 portions of about 80g and 20g)
  • 3 Egg yolks (i used 60g eggs)
  • 80 grams Cake flour
  • 50 ml Milk (full cream)
  • 30 grams Butter (or coconut oil)
  • 20 grams Cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder (optional)

Cream of tartar helps to stabilize your egg whites during whipping and baking powder helps to achieve the fluffy texture of the cake although both are not necessary.

I’m using only a electric hand whisk to do this cake, as little bowls and as little washing as possible.

Steps

1. Preheat oven at 170C.

2. Melt butter in warm milk

3. Combine and sift dry ingredients in a bowl

4. Whisk egg whites, gradually adding sugar (80g) in 3 batches to soft peak.

5. Whisk egg yolks with sugar (20g) in another bowl, till slightly pale in colour.

6. Add milk mixture and dry ingredients into the yolk mixture.

7. Fold in the egg white meringue in 3 batches.

8. Line a 6″ cake tin. I only line the base of the tin so the cake can “climb” and i will have a taller cake.

9. I bake my cake on the middle tray of the oven, at 170C (no fan) for 40 mins and 150C (fan) for 12mins. Insert a toothpick to check for doneness. It has to come out clean.

Some tips.

  • As i mention i want to keep as little washing and as little bowls i have for this, after you whipped your whites, there is no need to wash or clean your whisk. You may use it to whisk the yolks straight away.
  • Do not delay too long to get your egg yolks mixture done as the egg whites that you just whipped up, may deflat.
  • Do not overmix or overfold your batter in any part.
  • You can also use a 8″ cake tin for a bigger but shorter cake. It works fine too, but you may need to cut the baking time. Maybe try 170C 20mins (no fan) then 150C 10mins (fan). Insert toothpick to check for doneness.

I’ve prep some homemade berries jam and frost with some chocolate buttercream. You can frost the cake with whipped fresh cream as well. The ideas are countless when you have a perfect chocolate sponge cake đŸ‘đŸ»

Do tag me/pm me to share your success bakes with me (pictures), anywhere and everywhere using my method and recipe, and if you are lucky, your picture might appear here in my post!

Follow my Instagram (judybakez) on IG stories of my bakes and other miscellaneous hacks.

Follow my facebook page (judy bakes – dine inn) for my bake sale.

Post Surgery Recovery and Tips

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Today marks the 30th day of my post op. It was a hell month with pains and headaches that does not go away due to the tensed jaws muscles in my cheeks. I was too afraid to move or to bite because i felt my bones were still weak and movable!

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Facial (not jaw) exercises worked!! And some smiling exercises too.

Tension headaches released, tension jaws released. Work on it!!

P.s: Today I secretly released my tight rubber bands that Dr Tan tightened, since Dr Lye says my bite is quite stable and I’m going the ortho tomorrow 👍👍<

It’s been a tough month, especially the first 2 weeks. Before the operation, I thought it was easy because everywhere I read about their experiences was just discomfort, but they didn’t mention the frustrations they are getting. I was wired shut, I couldn’t get messages through, I was frustrated and impatient. I cried soooo much (nobody mention that previously in their recovery), and nobody visited me. Not to mention I was super weak and fatigued from the anesthesia and the liquid diet.

I seek alot of comfort from a jaw surgery group (worldwide) because that was only the place where people understands me.

Along the way, I met more people who are Singaporeans that are also Doctor Tan’s patients whom I can seek advice, help and comfort from their experience. (That’s how friends are made)

There were also times where people do not understand why I needed the surgery and keeps saying everything looks ok. Yea~ on the surface.. Don’t be so superficial can anot luh?? What’s inside my mouth and health related issues, you know anot hah?

Then there were people who are so ignorant that they claim this is solely cosmetic.. When do you see cosmetic surgery done in our local government hospitals? Common sense luh.. Somemore medisave can claim, government hospital stay can subsidise. So good ah? Then i want to do my boobs liao lah huh!

24-hour-boob-job

Then another few would say, but you see your face change like become a different person liao, still say not cosmetic? Comon leh… jaw movement (Bones) ley! If face no change maybe i’m really an alien liao! Can you look beyond that?

Doctor Tan told me to be prepared for face that may have huge changes. Maybe my jaw deformity is so bad that the surgery became a massive one that almost changed my looks entirely. On the good side, everyone around me who are concern on my biting and face symmetrical issues previously are happy for me. They look deep and beyond knowing it’s for the best of me. They said, : To us, you are still you. Your face has given you more confident and the thought that you could eat better in the future is most important.”

Wahhh… so touching luh.. then u know who are the real friends and family liao lor..

But I’m so glad that god has been kind to me allowing me to meet people who are on the same path. I had some of Facebook friends who are constantly comforting me and encourage me through each day (strange that sometimes the most caring ones are actually strangers)

Officially 1 month post op. I’m finally smiling 😊😊 The rest of the swelling will take months but it’s ok, at least my teeth meets now.

Tomorrow is my orthodontist appointment. Once I get all my braces fixed, my journey to chewing will officially starts 😄😄

AND BACK TO WORK!! I’m still on HL thou, we shall see how it goes. Cross my fingers no post op complications and no more intense headaches.

The whole surgery ONLY consist of breaking and moving of bones.

NO implants were made.

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P.S: I’M LOVING MY TEETH 😍😍😍

Works of orthodontics Dr Alfred Cheng from Alfred Cheng Orthodontics Clinic with Oral Maxillofacial surgeons Dr Winston Tan and Dr Clement Lye 👍 at The Oral Maxillofacial Practice.

I had a double jaw surgery where both jaw bones are cut and pushed back and secured by plates and screws till the bones regrow back. Doctors also decided on a chin advancement of 5mm during the surgery.

Jaw surgery recovery tips (based on what i have used and experienced) :

– Warm salted water gargle. Cheap and super effective on wounds. They are really important. I did it before and after every meal and that made m incisions heal hell lot faster and prevent inflammations on the wounds! Dy Lye was pretty amazed by my incisions recovery. I couldn’t brush my teeth so i also used orasol mouth rinse given by the hospital. That prevents bacteria from building in your mouth.

– Ice pack. They are saviors!! Apply them on your face for the first few days every few hours or as much as you like. Your face will be “burning” because your cells and trying to heal, ice packs helps to cool it down and makes it feels alot more comfortable.

– Liquid/Powdered Vitamins, Calcium and Probiotics. Your body has gone through a HUGE trauma after surgery and it needs external help. Antibiotics will cause upset stomach as it kills all bacteria including the good ones. I’m taking powdered form probiotics after every antibiotic medication and it makes my day alot better. For sale of powdered Vitamin C and Probiotics that i am taking, pm me on facebook.

– Warm packs. You will probably need this after 1-2 weeks post op. The muscles gets so tensed after surgery and not moving for weeks, heat packs warms it and loosen the muscles for better movement. I bathe with very warm water every morning to loosen my muscles in the cheeks.

– High Protein shakes and meal replacement. I heard so much from other jaw surgery bloggers how yuckie Ensure is, so i prepared my own Protein shakes and meal replacement. Your body needs ALOT of energy to heal, therefore nutritious food intake is very important. Juices and liquid alone, is never enough. If you wish to purchase the protein shake, you can pm me on my facebook.

– Big Syringes. Hospital will be giving syringe to aid you with your liquid diet however, it’s energy draining to pump and drink from a small syringe everytime. So go to Guardians Pharmacy and head for the biggest syringe!

s-l1000

– Very good Lip Balm. I heard vaseline is not good enough. I bought Burts bee Wax with peppermint and i have also gotten Paralin from the hospital. Your lips will be so swollen, injured, sore from peeling through the surgery that the bee wax kinda felt burning. I stopped and used Paralin since. Organic Coconut Oil from the supermarket is very good for healing and soothing peeled lips. Get one!

– Oracort E. Get it from your hospital before leaving. The sides of my lips cracked everytime i went back for review when they pulled open my mouth. It was a torture! This is for ulcers but it’s great for healing cracks on your lips too! Don’t buy from pharmacy, i feel it’s not the same. Get it from your dental clinics or hospitals.

Oracort-E-5mg (1)

– Frankincense and Myrrh oil. The pure ones are very expensive but they are worth buying for healing sake. Frankincense warms and soothe tensed muscle and also helps in the mood relieving stress, anxiety and despair. Myrrh helps in blood circulation, muscles contractions, boost immunity, strengthen gums, helps wounds and prevent infections. I applied on my face at least twice a day.

– Facial (not jaw) exercises. Doctor Lye cleared me on soft food on my 3rd week but i didn’t dare to because i had so much extra wires tired to my teeth and pressing into my gums making it so uncomfortable and sensitive to bite. By the 4th week when they release all my bands and wires, my face are still stiff and suffered persistent headaches because my muscles are not strong enough to support. So i googled and did some face exercise which includes expression exercise and smiling exercise.

Other exercise includes open (stretch) jaw wide to a acceptable range, hold it for 5 secs, slowly release.

Another is to lightly press against your chin, and open your jaw slowly. You will feel your muscles pulling.

It was the first time i slept peacefully after waking up from a severe headache and doing these exercises.

– H2O. Be very well hydrated. Drink LOTS of water, i don’t mean juices or fluids.

– Collagen. Doctor Tan mention that after surgery, your skin is stretched, water retention expands your skin causing skin to sag. Of course if you are young, collagen rebuilds faster. I wouldn’t want to take the risk so i drank collagen soup which can be purchased from here:—> https://sg.dineinn.com/hosts/judy-ng/foods/collagen-broth-z9ydzv8w6kexmw

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– Chicken and Fish Essence. To me, this is essential for recovery and wellbeing after surgery, at least for the first week. Pure black chicken essence can be purchased here: —-> https://sg.dineinn.com/hosts/judy-ng/foods/pure-black-chicken-essence-uy3qdfj7u1vddq

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– Baby Toothbrush and Waterpik. Dr Lye wants me to start brushing after week 1 removal of splint. My cheeks are so swollen that i can hardly reach a toothbrush in. Go to the baby store, and get the smallest toothbrush possible and start brushing. My waterpik usage is approved by Doctor Lye during week 2 but was afraid to use it till week 4. It really cleans all particles stuck in the sides or the brackets in your mouth. Keep your teeth as clean as possible to prevent bacteria buildup that causes tooth decay. What’s the use of a good set of teeth that is decayed?

That’s all i can think of now. I’ll continue to add in and update if i thought of anything else.

#jawsurgery #DrWinstonTan #DrClementLye #OralMaxillofacialClinic

The surgery day – Goodbye to Alien Jaws

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Hi all, long await for all those who have been waiting for my post on the actual jaw surgery day!! Here I pen down all my thoughts, emotions, struggles and hope to get encourgements to push through each dayđŸ€˜

The purpose of this jaw surgery: To make teeth meet, jaws aligned to give a proper bite. You’ll get ALOT of negativity from people, but you know what is good for you.

I’ve not been posting recently due that I’m feeling all so jittery from getting nearer and nearer to surgery date. I’ve researched so much, read so much blogs and took the courage to watch one YouTube video to know how it’s done (stupid me to scare myself) đŸ˜©đŸ˜©

I think I’ll summery the days all in one post? You guys can come back to this post to read up more updates day by day as I do not want to flood my baking posts with surgery details. Here comes ALL ungalm photos!

22nd Nov 2017 – Wednesday

Day 1 : 4 pre-molar teeth were removed, upper jaw about 6mm backwards, lower jaws about 4mm backwards and chin 5mm forward to give me a proper profile. (I’ll confirm the details again after I’m getting better) It was really traumatic and horrible day out of the surgical theater, when they woke me up right after the surgery. The pain was intense, 8/10 I would say, I could feel the pain of the bones broken and my face is so hot and burning that I’m sweating so much because blood were gushing in my face, the cells are trying to heal…. I’m drifting in and out of conscious and they keep calling my name! I was transferred to the ICU, I couldn’t really breathe and they gave me oxygen (Lucky no bubble tea straw inside my nose luh).

I vomited 3 bags of blood, (the effects from general anesthesia, the smell of blood is so raw and disgusting! ) they then injected anti-vomiting medicine through my IV drips and that got me better immediately. Bear with it. The worst is always at day 1 (That’s what everyone says). The doctors came and told me everything went well without complications! Oh~ ice packs!! They are very good relieve, keep asking for them if you feel pain and hot in your face!

Day 2 : Today is the day where I should be out of ICU but they couldn’t get me a A class ward so I downgraded. I hate staying in the ICU where there’s no tv and I can’t use the phone, awakening by noises of the machines and nurses every now and then, starring into blank spaces 😡. I agreed to downgrade to a B class ward.

Seeing all messages of encouragements brightens my day and the will to move on. These are people from all over the world who needs or have a jaw surgery. Join their Facebook page, share experiences and ask questions.

When everyone doesn’t understands why I’m going through this and keeps relating to cosmetic surgery, there are so many who understands why we have to go through this. Of cos, and my husband who has been there for all my medicinal appointments and hospital stays 😄

Where everyone doesn't understands why I'm going through this and keeps relating to cosmetic surgery, there are so many who understands why we have to go through this. What's better is my dad who never encourages surgeries actually encouraged this time! Of cos, and my husband who has been there for all my medicinal appointments and hospital stay

Lots of drooling because my mouth is too swollen to close up… I tried drinking with a straw for the first time after transferring to the B ward. I can’t drink well because my face muscles are all so swollen that I couldn’t sip. So I used a tubing syringe. I was on drips and medications was injected in drips, it became so painful on the 2nd day that the nurses say they had to poke another vein otherwise it might cause infection in that vein. I told her to gave me oral medications instead, and the doctor approved! Now, introducing “food” into your stomach after 2 days without food is tough, i thought i could drink but my throat is just starting to “reopen” and my stomach trying to re-accept food into it. Just keeps practicing! You need food and plenty of rest to recover!

Looking like some freako with splint and a wired shut mouth

Day 3 : i couldn’t believe how well I slept (2 and 4 hours) in my B1 ward (luckily, reading the post of others experience, they could only sleep 2 hours each time on Week 1), there weren’t much disturbance and my breathing is getting ALOT better! Very much progress for a day 3 I guess? Pain has became very much non existence other than some throbbing/pressure headaches. I felt some soreness from the stitches and I drank more fluid today, hoping they’ll remove my drips today. If all is well, they will discharge me on Friday. I want to sleep and recover comfortably at home.

Day 4 : Back at home for recovery. Slept from 10.30pm to 4.30am. My face is super oily, keeps oozing out oil. Felt pins and needles on my lips on and off, and I could feel the soreness of the stitches in my mouth now. Recovery was painful.

Day 5: Felt some pain from the stitches in the middle of the night, and hungry as well. Woke up this morning, made myself a glass of milk and cook some cauliflower potato soup, hoping I’ll get more nutrients and better appetite. I looked so HORRIBLE with blood stains on my mouth that i can’t clean.

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Day 6: Sleep deprived… 4.30am and this is my 3rd waking up since my sleep from 11pm. I dreamt that I was so hungry, walked passed cheers and went in to look for food. Grab a bag of super thin chips and started munching them, amazed at how I able to chew them, then I suddenly realized I have wired teeth and a splint (how the hell am I able to chew?) I woke up choking in real life and coughing on my saliva. Each time I wake up, I’m feeling stinging pain in my stitches and a super uncomfortable stomach from all those medications.

I cried really bad again today. I skipped the painkillers thinking I should be ok without them, now the pain is super intense that my tears just keeps dropping uncontrollably 😱 I’m back to painkillers…

Day 7 : Found an information site on jaw surgery, I recommend for all who plans to do this to read about it.

http://blog.profilosurgical.com.au/blog/jaw-surgery-your-questions-answered

My first appointment back at the clinic, Dr Lye tried cleaning my teeth today, stretching my mouth little to clean the inner part off the teeth. The sides of my lips CRACKED! OMG~ that was painful…. When you thought the worst was over, there is more to come đŸ˜„ my worst fear are the braces and bands again.

Dr Tan says he love profile and that it’s a job beautifully done! He kept telling Dr Lye “Jin Sui hor?” Wells, at least he’s pouring all the positive sprinkles into my brains during this tough recovery period.

They took my X- trays today and I finally get to see what’s inside me. I think there’s 6 cuts on my bones with 8 sets of plates. Now I feel like I’m Ironman đŸ€ŁđŸ€Ł

~”~

16 days post op

Visited the Dr Winston Tan today because Dr Lye is not around. He released more rubber bands from my mouth, but cannot release my wires yet. He says my surgery is more complicated than others as there are more broken bones compared to a normal jaw surgery (urgh~~ I hate the thought of how badly deformed my bones are.) One part of the bones which is held only with 1 plate is still shaky, and not healing yet, therefore he doesn’t want to risk removing the extra wires. The reason for one my 1 plate is that he didn’t want to damage my nerves over that area as there are much more nerves around there.

Removal of splint somewhere around after week 1

 

Here’s some detailed explanation of what they had done to me on one of the broken bones.

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Im still not allowed to chew and still on liquid diet, maybe soft with I can try to open mny mouth a little… (Sigh…..)
He asked me to start practicing to open my mouth and practice my bite. I tried, but my mouth wouldn’t open! The muscles around my cheeks are so tight and yet I wouldn’t want to force it in case I damage part of my face muscle and get permant numbness. I tried warm towel massages and all, but nothing seems to work! Doctor Tan says it well take a while and that I have to be patience.

~”~

24 days post op

Time flies…. It’s nearly a month to my recovery process. Friends who saw me said I looked so different. I felt I looked the same other than losing that double chin and chubby cheeks. (I had 4 teeth removed lor)

My top wire band has been removed on week 3 (goodness! It’s eating into my gums all the time!)

As my rubbers get loosen, and cleared to eat soft food (that can be mashed with your tongue, no actual biting yet, just practice with soft food), my jaw joints and head hurts at night when I try to sleep. It was so bad that I had to constantly take painkillers but still it did not ease that headache. Doctor says my muscles are not ready to support yet therefore he added 2 more rubber bands to ease that jaw muscles.

I found that i’m constantly admiring my side profile pictures and starting to fall in love over it 😍😍, the symmetrical profile that I had always longed for.

Flipping back my old photos, I made some comparisions..

The clinic has taken photos of me before surgery (non edited and non angled). I realised after braces, my face muscles proportion has changed!) How bad are my slated jaws duh...!!

The clinic has taken photos of me before surgery (non edited and non angled). I realised after braces, my face muscles proportion has changed!) How bad are my slated jaws duh…!!

Before pic:

I looked more fierce and totally non approachable when I don’t smile (but I’m not!).

I looked like an auntie (even people says it’s not)

I looked tired no matter how much eyelash and make up I try to put. Duh!!

My lips just WOULDN’T close and thus causing crack and dry lips.

I’ve got a “double chin” because of the receding chin.

My side profile is not symmetrical.

Next moving on .. to recovery tips on my next post!

Black Sesame Paste

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I’m enjoying my 2nd bowl of black sesame paste while sharing this recipe. Black sesame paste is a popular dessert among the chinese where you can buy a small bowl for about $3.50 or more for one scoop/one small bowl at most dessert stalls then realise you cannot have enough of it. Some stalls did not strain them properly resulting in a rough texture or they are too watery. If you ever had a home-made black sesame paste, probably you’ll never want to buy any pre-packed from grocery shops or dessert stalls anymore. Home-made gives you the most authentic, aromatic and flavor in every scoop that you’ll never forget =D

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Sesame is one of the oldest seeds known to man. Thought to have originated in India or Africa, the first written record of sesame dates back to 3,000 BC. It’s unclear when sesame first found its way to China. Some sources claim the Chinese were using sesame oil in their lamps as far back as 5,000 years ago, while others state sesame seeds were introduced into China about 2,000 years ago. It’s probably true that the ancients first relied on the sesame plant to provide oil, and only later discovered its value as a food source.

Image result for sesame seeds history

Sesame seeds were one of the first crops processed for oil as well as one of the earliest condiments. The addition of sesame seeds to baked goods can be traced back to ancient Egyptian times from an ancient tomb painting that depicts a baker adding the seeds to bread dough.

Image result for sesame seeds bread

Black sesame is well-known for remedy for grey hair , consisting a good source of hair nourishing vitamins and minerals such as copper, manganese, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, vitamin B1, amino acids, selenium, melanin, and dietary fiber. Sesame seeds rank highest in cholesterol-lowering phytosterols of nearly all nuts, seeds, legumes and grains, therefore protecting the heart by lowering the cholesterol and blood pressure levels. With the high amount of antioxidants and anti-aging benefits, you need not worry about getting old too soon.

It prevents cancer! Sesame seeds contain anti-cancer compounds including phytic acid, magnesium and phytosterols. And the phytosterol content of sesame (especially the black sesame seeds)  is the highest of any commonly consumed seeds and nuts.

Benefits of sesame seeds - Dr. Axe

There are just too many benefits of black sesame that it probably takes pages to list them all. So everybody says, eat more black sesame if you want black hair but obviously you need to turn these seeds into something delicious first right?

Previously i made a post on Black Sesame Chiffon recipe which makes use of black sesame powder to make this. The residue after straining can be used for baking cakes and cookies too, all you need to do is to dry them in the oven before keeping it in the fridge.

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Let’s see how black sesame paste is made.

Black Sesame Paste

Ingredients:

  • 60 gm white sesame seeds
  • 60 gm black sesame seeds
  • 60 gm glutinous rice flour
  • 800ml + 250ml of water
  • 120g rock sugar (preferably to reduce to 100gm)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Method

  1. Rinse sesame seeds over running water. Mix 250ml of water into the glutinous rice flour and set aside.
  2. Toast the sesame seeds in a pan till dry and fragrant. You will know it’s ready when it starts “popping”. Transfer to a bowl to cool.50579462-50ee-4cfe-99c1-a040dcbeaa7a
  3. Put the seeds into a blender and process till fine.
  4. Add water into the blender, only enough to make it into a paste. Continue to process at high speed until it becomes smooth. For my amazing blender it takes 30secs to 1 min.
  5. Next, sieve the sesame paste over your pot for a smoother texture. Remove the residue, blend with water again and repeat for the second time.
  6. Add the rest of water into the pot together with salt, oil and glutinous rice water.
  7. Cook till thicken and serve. The colour is a little light when cooked but it’ll darkens after a while. Store the rest in the fridge for a cool dessert or half the recipe if it’s too much portion.
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    ENJOY!!

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芋çČżć·§ (Orh Kueh Kiao)

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Orh Kueh Kiao is a taiwanese snack that is similar to our steam taro cake, the ingredient used are almost similar but however the method used to cook these two is very different.
The pre-cook state of our yam local cake is to steam them in a somewhat liquid form whereas for orh kueh kiao we shape them when in it’s dry form.  The steaming process can be a little troublesome but the end product can give u a sense of accomplishment.

Orh kueh kiao recipe uses glutinous rice flour which gives this snack a very Q and chewy texture. It can be eaten as a meal or as a snack which can be very nutritious and delicious. It can be eaten in 2 ways, to consume right after steaming or pan- fry in low fire after steaming to give the skin a little crisp and yet Q and chewy on the inside.

I’m always curious in exploring in different types of food recipes. When i first came upon this recipe i thought, how could i not eaten this in Taiwan before after so many trips to taiwan?! I’m so eager to find out how it taste like so let’s get to work!

Ingredients:

  • 230g glutinous rice flour
  • 70g rice flour
  • 130g yam cubed
  • 80g minced meat (marinate with a little salt)
  • 10g dried shrimp soaked and minced
  • 3 pieces dried chinese mushroom (soaked and chopped)
  • 2 tbsp fried shallots
  • 200g water
  • Canola oil (Any oil works as well)
  • Dumpling leaves (cut into size)

Seasonings

  • 2 tbsp dark soya sauce (Can be adjusted according to own’s preference)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp five spice powder
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

I never had thought to input this as a recipe this was done randomly and i did not expect the taste and flavor to wow me so i did not take much picture on it, however i will make it up again next time. So if you have any questions, feel free to drop a message here =)

Method

(Stir-fry the ingredients – to give everything a boost of fragrant)

  1. Heat oil in pan with low medium heat. Fry mince meat until it turns white.
  2. Add in dried shrimps, fry till fragrant. Then add in mushrooms and yam pieces, give it a light fry. (Don’t worry about the yam not getting cooked, it will be during the steaming process later.)
  3. Now you can add in the all the seasonings, mix them well.
  4. Lastly, off the stove’s heat, add in the fried shallots and fry evenly.
  5. Take out to cool in a plate/bowl.

(The flour)

  1. Sift glutinous rice flour and rice flour in a bowl. Slowly add water and knead till dough comes together. There will still be some crumbly flour in your bowl.
  2. Add in the stir-fried ingredients into the flour mixture, knead until everything comes together into a shape-able state. The mixture will be dry, so do not worry about that.
  3. Randomly grab the dough according to your preferred size and shaped it in the shape of a cashew, then place it on the dumpling leaves. This portion shapes about 7-8 pieces depending on the size.
  4. Prepare your steamer with boiling water. Place the orh kuek kiao into the steamer and steam for 20 mins and you are done!

The darker version as I added a little more dark soya sauce to give it a little more colour.

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You can also try to pan fry lightly in this stage for a different texture.

When this was done, it smells so good, but i was hesitant to try because i couldn’t imagine the taste of it. So i let my hubs try the first bite and he says Mmmmm!!!! It’s good! He could describe the texture and how it taste in the mouth and so after i tried it the next day~ It was good and i love it! I prefer the pan fried version whereas hubs preferred the steamed version.

So it’s your turn now! Try it and tell me how you feel about this dish! =D

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1 gm Yeast (no-knead) Bread

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Hello my friends!! I’ve been really busy recently with bakes for orders, reading recipes, my full time job, a side line online sales.. phew.. it’s tough being a Singaporean nowadays but nevertheless, keep positive mind and stay happy 😀

Bread making has been to toughest to me and took me the longest ever to get them right. I believe it has been like that for most people, but able to make your own fresh bread with no preservatives is so satisfactory to your heart, mind, soul and tummy!

I’m really excited to share this recipe of this bread that uses only 1g yeast! Yeasts are live organism which is the common name for the strains of yeast commonly used as a leavening agent in baking bread and bakery products, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Most recipes we see uses probably average of 5g or more of yeasts which makes the bread has a very strong smell of it~ However this particular bread~ it’s perfect for those who doesn’t like that strong smell~ Due to the very little amount of yeast, proofing takes very much longer time too, therefore usually i would start this at night when i am back from work.

In the post, I’ll also share how to store this type of bread for a longer storage life. It works for almost all kinds of artisan bread that you bake! This very easy no knead bread that everyone can try!

1 gm yeast no-knead bread

 

Ingredients:

  • 300 gm bread flour
  • 1 gm sea salt
  • 1 gm instant dry yeast
  • 18 gm caster sugar
  • 3 gm honey (you can use molasses/this gives colour to the bread)
  • 225 ml water (room temperature)
  • black and white sesame seeds (toasted, portion according to own preference or any other nuts you preferred)

 

Method

  1. In a bowl, add water. Mix in the honey and yeast, using a chopstick, stir well.
  2. Next add in caster sugar, stir till dissolves, then add in salt.
  3. Add in bread flour first then sesame seeds, generally stir into a dough until all water is absorbed (add a little water if you need, different brands of flour have different absorption) Remember! There is no need to knead!
  4. Next, transfer into a bowl or container. I prefer to use a transparent container so i can see the proofing process. Cover with a wet towel or container lid. Personally, i feel a container with lid proof better. Leave it in the kitchen overnight.  (*Fun activity: Place a rubber band over the container to mark the level, you will see how much your dough has grown overnight!)
  5. Next morning, place the container in the fridge for 12-24 hours to let it continue to ferment.
  6. After 12-24 hours, remove from fridge. Dust the work space with flour and remove the dough. Dust the dough with flour and lightly flatten the dough. Fold into thirds, turn around and repeat the process again.
  7. Cover with towel and let it rest for about 15 mins. After 15 mins, with a rolling pin, roll out into rectangular then roll up like the picture below: (This picture is taken from The Goldilocks Kitchen as i forgotten to take pictures of the process)   Image result for roll bread dough up
  8. Line your baking tray with baking paper and place the dough on top, sealed side down. Cover with a wet towel and let it proof for about 1-2 hours. The dough should rise twice or thrice the size.
  9. Preheat oven at 180C. Bake for 40mins.
  10. Remove from oven, DO NOT CUT immediately! The dough inside will still be wet or sticky. Leave it to cool on a wire rack totally before cutting into slices.

How to keep your bread?

These bread are the softest and nicest after baked. Once it’s cooled and sliced, they only last for about 2 hours or less before the interior turns dry and hard.

What you should do is to keep part of the sliced bread that you will be consuming within the next day or two into a air tight container. Keep the rest into a zip-lock bag and freeze it! Take it out and defrost before you want to eat it again. What i do is i would defrost the night before, and get them ready for breakfast the next morning =D Try it and tell me if it works for u, it works for me!

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Easy Dinner Rolls

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In every post in my blog, before a recipe, i would always share a little about my thoughts and lifestyle (and letting out little grumbles here and there) .

Recently i read an article on how baking relieve stress =) I’m pretty glad i founded a skill within me that brings so much benefits to myself and people around me. Baking helps to relieve stress and the feeling of inequality from work, and giving me a chance to practice and improve on my skills as well, best part is? you bake not to seek attention or to out-do others, but when you just want to share the food with people who you believe will appreciate it

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Baking for others can increase a feeling of wellbeing, contribute to stress relief and make you feel like you’ve done something good for the world, which perhaps increases your meaning in life and connection with other people

Every weekend i would always be thinking of what to eat for breakfast for the coming work week. Buying a bread? Chwee Kuey? Bee hoon? Work week is tough because it’s hard to manage when you have to wake up early, preping lunch-box for my hubby, me and a colleague which ends up i would be late to get myself breakfast. Having breakfast at work is also a difficulty because my hands would usually be full of never ending work always thrown at me. Besides, thinking of all the preservatives that outside food gives.. ewwwww!!

My family loves bread, especially mum~ i’ve been trying to make good bread since 3 years ago but failed upteen no of times. It’s only because of her and her love for bread, i never gave up trying =) Now i make simple bread loaf, artisan bread, bread rolls so on and so forth.. However, making bread takes alot of time on proofing, sometimes it would take up to half a day. Hence, i came upon a simple recipe and found out a easier and faster way to do it if you have a typical built in oven and a light feature.

Making bread is the toughest among all bakes, therefore please bear with me on details and read carefully through them and i’m sure you can make a good bread too! Compared to so many bread recipes, this is the easiest of all.

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Easy Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 250 gm bread flour
  • 25 gm cake flour
  • 5 gm instant dry yeast
  • 40 gm caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 100 ml water, warm
  • 80 ml milk, warm
  • 40 gm butter, cut into small cubes

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  1. Mix all dry ingredients except butter into your bread-maker/mixer.  Add in your liquid ingredients as you mix, let the liquid incorporate into the flour. If you are using a bread maker, you can add in the liquid together with your dry ingredients. I am using low speed (speed 2-3) for my mixer for about 3-5minutes.
  2. Once everything is incorporated, add in the butter cubes and low speed, and continue mixing for another 3-5mintues.
  3. Once done, remove dough to do a window pane check (check for dough’s elasticity). If not satisfied, do a few more kneads.
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  4. Roll your dough into a ball, tugging the ends at the bottom. Place it in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth.
  5. Speedy step:- If you oven has this light feature, turn it on before you start your dough process. After your dough is done, cover with a damp cloth and place it in the oven. (Do not on the temperature!) The light and warm in the oven is going to proof your dough alot faster and puffier! This should take about 30-40mins compared to a normal 2 hours proofing.used_oven-light-411882

    look at the proofed bread dough here, so pretty

  6. Once the dough is proofed, punch down and remove from bowl. Dust your tabletop with a little flour, giving it a few kneads before cutting them into equal parts. I have forgotten my actual weight of each ( i have 12 pieces of dinner rolls here). I would usually weight the whole dough and divide the weight into the number of pieces of bread rolls i want.
  7. Rolls them into individual round balls and place them on your baking pan, as close/as tight together as possible, so it would rise higher when it bakes.
  8. Cover your dough with the damp cloth and place it back in the over for about 10-15mins.
  9. Remove, and preheat your oven at 170C while your dough continues to rise. When your oven is ready, bake for 20-25mins.
  10. Remove from oven and cool.

Here, i did an extra step which you could omit if you want to bake just plan dinner rolls. I have made OTAH dinner rolls with garlic butter spread! This is just agar agar because it was a try out, so i do not have exact weightage of each ingredients.

Ingredients:

Otah (frozen/chilled from supermarket)
Butter
Minced Garlic
Chopped Parsley
Pinch of salt

Steps:

  1. Melt butter in a pan, add garlic, parsley and salt. Mix. Leave aside.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  2. Wrap otah into each of the bread dough, sealing it the the end and place the end downwards into the baking pan.
  3. Cover your dough with the damp cloth and place it back in the over for about 10-15mins.
  4. Remove, and preheat your oven at 170C while your dough continues to rise.
  5. Spread garlic butter on top of the bread and bake for 20-25mins.
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  6. Remove from oven and cool.
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TA DAAAH~~~ SOFT and Fluffy Bread Rolls

Mistake: I did not steam my otah before wrapping in the bun, which i think it’s not right because they turn out so soft and mushy which makes it very difficult in wrapping them into the buns.

Note: Home-made bread rolls do not last as long as commercial bought bread because we did not include preservatives. Keep them in a airtight container and consume within 2-3days.

Please feel free to #Judybakez or send me questions through my facebook. I may not be an expert but i’ll be glad to share my experience =D

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Honey Cheese Sponge Cake

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TGIF! It’s been quite a while since i have posted but i have been baking weekly still. I’ve been rather hardworking going to libraries, browsing through cookery and baking books, reading and feeding my knowledge. Learning is a never ending process.

There’s a recent craze about this Le Castella that comes to Singapore and they are everywhere in the media. Castella (ă‚«ă‚čăƒ†ăƒ©?Kasutera) is a popular Japanesesponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs, and starch syrup. When this cake comes to Taiwan, the wait was 5 hours and when it comes to Singapore it was a 3 1/2 hours. The Queue was CRAZY and I was initially jumping with excitement but after i’ve seen alot of media photos of the cake, with alot of so-so reviews, i was reluctant to try.

Le Castella T1

Some friends tried it and gave the feedback that it’s not worth buying, they taste like normal sponge, just softer or fluffier. The cakes look inconsistent, dense and charred on the surface. An over-baked charred skin is a huge turn off to me, becasue a charred skin could overpower the original taste of a good cake/any baked goods.

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There’s also a link here –> http://www.asiaone.com/singapore/taiwans-famous-castella-cake-town-heres-our-verdict which doesn’t seems to have very good reviews about the cake as well..

And so.. i did my own version (adapted from guai shu shu’s cheesy sponge cake). There are still rooms for improvement, however this is my first try =)

Honey Cheese Castella Recipe

 

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Ingredients:

The yolks batter
80g melted butter
6 egg yolks ( i used 60g eggs)
100g of cake flour
60g honey
20g milk
1/2 tsp salt

The white meringue
6 egg whites
60g sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

Grated cheddar cheese or any cheese preferred

 

Method

 

  1. The yolk batter – Pre-heat oven to 160 degree
  2. Whisk egg yolks and 2 tbsp of sugar till light and fluffy
  3. Add salt, milk, melted butter and honey, mix well.
  4. Add cake flour, mix well until smooth, put aside.

 

 

  1. The white meringue – Pour all your whites in clean mixing bowl, using a machine and whisk till it’s frothy, add in your cream of tartar. Gradually add in your sugar in batches when the whites becomes soft peaks while whisking till it reaches soft peak form.
  2. Take 1/3 of the white meringue, fold it into the yolk meringue. Do this in 3 batches until fully combined. Try not to over mix and deflate the batter.

 

 

Baking time!!

 

  1. Line your baking tin. I used a rectangular tin for my bake today. Pour in half of the batter.
  2. Spread/Sprinkle cheddar cheese all over your cake and top up the other half of the batter over it.
  3. Level the top lightly, and bang it on the table a few times to remove large air bubbles trapped inside the cake.
  4. Steam bake for 30-40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
  5. Remove from tray. Cut and Serve =)

 

I might be baking mine for too long or did not use the water bathe method so the cake comes out slightly more dry as compared to the original recipe. However, the cake taste heavenly of honey, it’s soft and fluffy and it stays that way for the next 2 days!

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