Tuesday 27 December 2011

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup



I've loved this noodle soup since I was small thanks to a restaurant not far from my school, I have to admit I still haven’t gotten it right. The best Taiwanese beef noodle locally now in Brisbane is from Yang Mama in Sunnybank.

Ingredients
1kg gravy beef/any casserole cut
2 cloves of garlic
3 cm knob of ginger
2 tbsp of bean paste (I used chilli bean paste today, DH complained it was too spicy)
1 star anise
5 cloves
1 cinnamon
2 cups of beef stock
2 carrots cut into large pieces
1 lobak (chinese turnip) cut into large pieces
Yang Chun noodles (flat wheat noodles) 1 bundle per serve
1 bunch of pickled salted mustard greens, finely chopped
Chilli paste (optional)
Salt and pepper

Method
1.          Boil the beef, herbs and spices with the stock in a large pot on low heat until the beef is tender. I used my pressure cooker which only took 10 minutes.
2.          Add in the carrots and turnips and cook till they’re softened. (Another 10 minutes in the pressure cooker). Add salt and pepper to taste.
3.          In a separate pot, cook the noodles in boiling water.
4.          Drain and rinse the starch away with cold water.
5.          Place drained noodles at the bottom of the bowl.
6.          Ladle over the beef stew.
7.          Serve with the pickled mustard greens and chilli paste.



Sunday 25 December 2011

Merry Christmas 2011!

We're having an easy quiet Christmas this year with just the two of us and the animals. Merry Christmas to all! Have a blessed time with your family and wishing you a very Happy New Year!




The recipe is here. Last year's rumballs.

Thursday 22 December 2011

Stained Glass Christmas Cake



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

This is Belinda Jeffrey’s recipe published in the Dec/Jan edition of Delicious magazine. It has hardly any cake, just decadently full of fruits and nuts. The orange and lemon zests give it a fresh lift. You can put in any permutations of dried fruits and nuts as long as the combined weight is 810g. I used apricots and cranberries instead of glace cherries, I think I’ll try some glace ginger next time.

Ingredients
125g Brazil nuts
125g pecans
250g pitted dates, chopped
125g glace pineapple, cut into 1 cm pieces
125g red glace cherries
60g glace peaches, chopped
1tbsp Grand Marnier or cognac
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange
½ cup (75g) plain flour, sifted
¾ tsp baking powder
A small pinch of salt
3 eggs
90g caster sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
40g unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup apricot jam

Method
1.          Preheat oven to 140C.
2.          Grease and line a 21x11x6cm loaf pan.
3.          Placed all the fruits in a bowl with the alcohol, mix in the nuts and zests.
4.          Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.
5.          Add in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
6.          Add in the cooled melted butter.
7.          Combine the batter with the fruits and nuts.
8.          Spoon batter into the loaf pan and level the top with the back of a spoon.
9.          Bake for 1 ½ hours or until skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. (only took 1 hr and 10 minutes in my oven)
10.      Place on wire rack and allow cake to cool completely in the pan.
11.      To serve, warm the apricot jam with a couple of spoonfuls for water in the microwave and brush over the top of the cake.



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