Celery with Tao kwa

Ingredients

2 cakes of tao kwa
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery with leaves
1 tomato
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
a dash of pepper

Method

1. Rinse and cut tao kwa into cubes. Remove carrot skin and slice it. Wash celery, and separate the leaves with the stalks. Cut slantly the stalks and chopped the leaves. Wedge the tomato and set aside.

2. Heat and oil the pan, stir fry the tao kwa till some golden brown and removed. Put in the carrots and celery and stir fry for 2 minutes.

3. Add in the tao kwa and tomato wedges. Seasoning and put some water. Mix welll carefully without much damage to the tao kwa.

4. Put in the celery leaves and serve hot.

Bean Sprout Eggy Soup

Ingredients

225 g fresh bean sprouts
1 egg
1 tsp sesame oil
seasoning
600ml water
some fresh coriander leaves

Preparation

1. Wash teh bean sprouts in cold water, discarding the husks and other bits and pieces that float to the surface. It is not necessary to top and tail (trim) each sprout.

2. Egg the egg and keep aside.

Method

1. Fill the pot with water and bring to boil. Add in the beansprout and seasonings to taste.

2. When the soup starting to boil again, add the beaten egg very slowly and stir. Serve hot, with sesame oil, dash of pepper and garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Bánh Bông Lan Rể Tre (Honeycomb Sponge Cakes)

I have been experimenting with different types of flours and their role in cakes. The interesting thing about this recipe is there is no chemical leavening to help create the “honeycombs”. The honeycombs are dependant on the type of flour used. This cake is more interesting than tasty. They taste just fine; like any other sponge cake when hot but hardens once cooled. The solution? Just let the cakes cool and store them in an air tight container. Steam for 5 mins before serving, voila! In just 5 mins., you have steamed honeycomb sponge cakes ;).

Ingredients:
-2 eggs (100g)
-100g rice flour
-90g sugar
-3 tbs water (optional, can substitute with coconut milk, panda juice, etc…)

What to Do:
Preheat oven to 450’F and heat moulds. Beat eggs with sugar until pale and lemon colored. Add flour and water mix well. Pour batter into the heated moulds (should sizzle when the batter goes in). Bake for about 5-10 mins or until golden.

Note:
-this is a very simple recipe, the weight of the eggs, flour, and sugar should be approximately equal (adjust to you preference; try the recipe with just 1 egg if you just want to experiment)
-the pans should be very hot when the batter goes in and bake the cakes at a high temperature. If the temperature is too low the honeycombs will not be as high as it should be.