Let Them Eat [Pumpkin] Pie All Year Round

It's been a while since I wrap myself in my baby soft throw and listen to Norah Jones while I blog. This past month is all about traveling: starting with Seattle, then Aspen, and Rochester. The temperature drops about 20 degrees every city I visit. I think I've had enough hot chocolate this winter. Even Starbucks' Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate tastes less charming.

Here's a beautiful street at Seattle. I'm not sure if I can find the street again if I go back. I took a few wrong turns after I stepped out from the bus while looking for Book Larder. This tiny store carries every recipe book you can imagine. I saw Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France, Deb Perelman's The Smittehn Kitchen Cookbook, Pierre Herme's Macarons, Bread Apprentice...

Love the foods at Pike Market

Then the journey continued....I went skiing with some friends at Aspen, CO. There was barely any snow but it was enough for us beginners to hone our skills.

On the way to Aspen from Denver

I learned how to curve!

At last I ended my journey at Rochester, NY. I didn't go out except for food. There was way too much wine, good food and endless talks.

It snowed on the first night

Good Luck restaurant makes kick ass butternut squash foccacia

Granny style high tea with cake-like scone and sweet finger sandwiches that's...not small at all

With all the traveling I really had no time to bake. Only exception is pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving orders and a few macarons here and there. This year's pie making involved a mini experiment where I tried new crust using vodka instead of water. The dough was not flaky as indicated. I got a heavy, greasy after taste. My favorite is still the all butter pie dough from The Baker's Dozen Cookbook. Here you will find the recipes I used. Who says you can't have pumpkin pie in December? I say let them eat pie all year round!

Butter Pie Dough

1 cup of flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon cold water
1 stick of chill butter, diced

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Roll butter cubes in the dry ingredients. Rub the butter against your finger tips. Cover the butter with more flour and continue rubbing until you get pea-like consistency.

Add one tablespoon of water and mix well. Try to make everything come together into a ball. If the ball is falling apart, add a little more water. Don't worry if you have a few butter crumbs leftover. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap. Use the heel of your palm to flatten the dough into a 2 inch thick disk. Let chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Filling
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoon clove
2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 can pumpkin puree

To assemble the pie:
Preheat oven to 400F.

Take the pie disk from the freezer. Lightly flour the work surface and rub flour on the rolling pin. Unwrap the disk and sprinkle some flour on top. Make a quarter turn with the help of a scraper after each roll. Keep dusting the work surface with flour to prevent sticking. When the pie is larger than your pie dish, fold it in half then another half.

Place folded pie dough in the center of a 9in pie pan. Unfold the dough and flute the edges. Put in freezer for 30 minutes. Line a piece of foil paper over the chill pie shell then add pie weights or any beans you can find in the pantry. Bake the shell for 15 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 5 minute. Lower oven temperature to 350F.

Mix all the pumpkin pie filling together till you get a smooth paste. Pour into a warm pie shell. Bake pie for 35 minutes. The middle should jiggle a little when you move the pie.

Let cool at room temperature and serve with some whip cream or chai latte.

*I used William Sonoma's pie press to make the leaf decoration. You would need to make two pie doughs--one for the shell and the other for decoration. Bake any leftover pie dough into cookies. My favorite part of the pie is the buttery shell!

Green Tea Latte

 For those of you who read Mandarin. This is an old old classic by Jacky Cheung 張學友

作詞：吳慶康   作曲：李偉菘/陳少琪
每個人都在問我到底還在等什麼
等到春夏秋冬都過了難道還不夠
其實是因為我的心有一個缺口
等待拿走的人把它還給我
每個人都在說這種愛情沒有結果
我也知道你永遠都不能夠愛我
其實我只是希望你有時想一想我
你卻已經漸漸漸漸什麼都不再說
我睡不著的時候 會不會有人陪著我
我難過的時候 會不會有人安慰我
我想說話的時候 會不會有人了解我
我忘不了你的時候 你會不會來疼我
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了
每個人都在說這種愛情沒有結果
我也知道你永遠都不能夠愛我
其實我只是希望你有時想一想我
你卻已經漸漸漸漸什麼都不再說
我睡不著的時候 會不會有人陪著我
我難過的時候 會不會有人安慰我
我想說話的時候 會不會有人了解我
我忘不了你的時候 你會不會來疼我
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了
你知不知道 你知不知道 我等到花兒也謝了

Even though this is a rather emo song, I am not at all blue this morning. I stumbled across Jacky Cheung when I was updating my music playlist for my upcoming flight. His voice is full of emotion...It makes you tremble, remembering those memories (both good and bad). Next to me a is a warm cup of matcha latte. Right now, a cup of sweet lattee fits the mood much better than a shot of bitter espresso. When you're in a good mood, emo songs make you feel stronger because you experienced all the heart break, tears, and you survived.

Green Tea (Matcha) Latte
for one
2 tablespoon matcha powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey

Heat heavy cream and honey. Dissolve matcha with 2 tablespoon of hot water. Use a petite whisk to break the lumps. Pour hot milk over matcha paste and serve in a coffee mug.

*Optional: use a milk frother to whisk the hot milk before pouring it on matcha paste.

Happy Birthday to Julian--Gluten Free Carrot Cake

A big shout out to my friend Julian! He is turning twenty this coming Tuesday. A few years back he was this skinny and snobby boy and now he is twenty, so much less annoying, and more mature. Julian and the rest of the little kids belong to another group during family gatherings. He is the oldest among the kids but not old enough to join the 大姐姐 group. All the older siblings are sisters and most have a younger brother. Naturally the sisters got together, and we let the little kids run around and fight over PSP consoles.

Every year one of those boys is flying oversea for college. Even though they've out grown their tiny frame, to me they will always be a bunch of up-to-no-good boys.

Almond Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Walnuts and Macarons

I adapted Elena's Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe into this two layer birthday cake. I like the simplicity of Elena's recipe...almond meal, baking soda, spices, eggs then BOOM you get a dozen cupcakes! I wonder if the cake would be too dense if I use regular all purpose flour instead of almond meal. However, almond meal never fails to deliver a moist cake. Almond Honey Cake with almond meal and honey is one great example.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake
6 eggs
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground clove
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups almond meal
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

2 round 9" baking pans, buttered or lined with parchment paper

In a bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, sugar, honey, spices, and salt. Sift almond meal and baking soda in another bowl. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together till you get a smooth paste. Throw in the grated carrots and walnut pieces.

Divide batter into two equal portions and pour along the side of the pan. *Don't pour everything into the middle, this is how you get a mini volcano during baking.

Bake for 40 minutes at 350F. Let cool in cake pan after baking. Frost right away or wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Cream cheese frosting: Blend 8oz cream cheese, 4oz unsalted butter, and 2 cups of powdered sugar together till you get a fluffy spread.

Assembly:

Spread cream cheese frosting on top

Frost the second cake

Decorate it with walnuts, macaron shells, or anything you have on hand

Sesame Butter

I'm traveling on this wide wide road. A thick fog blocks my view. I can't see what is ahead. When I look back, the path I traveled by is buried by yet another thick fog.  What is to the left, to the right of me I don't know.  I see a few familiar faces, some laughing, some frowning, some fading away. My hands reach out to them, but all I can grasp in my palms is a few strands of warm air.

I had a dream--a very lonely dream. The chill ran down my spine and expelled all sleepiness away. When I opened my eyes, I told myself, "Angel you need some warm buns and sesame butter." Off I go, tie my messy bundle of hair up, turn on my Ta-tung steamer, pop two frozen buns in it. Fifteen minutes later......a loud ta sound took me back to the kitchen. Within seconds I have two steamy hot buns in my palms. It feels so good to hold something warm after a nightmare. On top of that, I made some sesame butter. It gives the plain buns a nutty kick.

The sesame butter inspiration came from Nami's How to Make Black Sesame Paste. I had no idea sesame paste is as simple as sesame seeds and honey! When I blended the two together, the aroma reminds me of white chocolate. In the back of my head, I feel the two will mix together very well. I measured out some Valrhona white chocolate chips that is just pure cocoa butter and milk.

Sesame Butter
100g black sesame seeds
honey
50g white chocolate

In a food processor or Vitamix, blend sesame seeds on variable-low speed. Start dripping honey drop by drop into the running blades. Add enough honey to get the whole process going. Then turn speed on high to let the sesame oil come out.

While the blender is on high, heat white chocolate on a double boiler or in a microwave.

Turn the food processor off when you get a thick black paste. Pour the sesame paste into melted white chocolate. Use a spoon and blend the two together till all the white chocolate is incorporated.



This goes well with bread, man-tou 饅頭, macaron, or tang-yuan 湯圓. In fact, sesame macaron is now my newest flavor at my macaron pop-up! Thank you all again for the support! I went through 2kg of almond meal and even more powdered sugar. Your sweet feedbacks keep my going and going.

Order now from Chez Ma Cuisine's Facebook Page!

Tomato Puree Soup

It is November all of a sudden. The holiday season is approaching loudly and right on schedule before you are ready to roast the turkey, make the stuffing, wrap the presents all at the same time. I didn't grow up with Thanksgiving. Although in school my American teachers usually organize a potluck in class and there are a few turkey posters around campus. That's all really. We don't even get a day off.

But growing up, I learned to leave my mother alone when she was preparing for Chinese New Year. Every little trouble irritated her like a tic-toking time bomb. While my mother hangs up the red curtains, stuff dumplings and run errands my little brother and I keep quiet on the side guesstimating how much money we will receive this year.

I love winter and it always make me nostalgic. It is full of holidays, gifts, and joy. The gloomy weather also makes everything much more poetic. You can't have a festive Christmas wreath on the door without bare trees and dry leaves in the background. The sadness that come with the surrounding make you appreciate what you have. Too bad LA never gets cold enough for me to feel sad and joyful at the same time.

I make up for the lack of winter with soup. Soup is a staple in winter. All it takes is a bowl of hot soup to make you feel loved from the bottom of your heart.

Tomato Soup
Serves 4

4 large tomatoes
half of an onion sliced
4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
a handful of basil

Boil a pot of water for the tomato. While the water is cooking, remove the stem and cut an X at the back of the tomatoes. Drop the tomato or tomatoes (depending on the size of your pot) into the boiling water for 10 seconds. Take tomatoes out and peel off the skin and cut out any white stem. Over the sink, squeeze the tomato seeds out. Dice the skin-free and seed-free tomato into large chunks.

Take a stock pot and heat it up on medium heat. When the oil is hot, sautee the onion and garlic till fragrant. Add the tomato chunks and tomato paste and use a wooden spoon to incorporate everything together. Pour enough water to cover the foods and throw in some basil. Turn heat on high and let cook for 30 minutes.

Let soup cool in the pot for a while and either pour into a blender or use an immersion blender to puree everything till velvety. On low heat, continue cooking for 1-2 hours until dinner time.

Cut an X

Boil the tomato for 10 seconds then peel off the skin

Cut out the white stem

Squeeze over the sink to remove the seeds

Ta da!

SELLING MACARONS & Making Pumpkin Bread Sandwiches

It was a hella long week full of work and macarons. After work on Wednesday, I decided to post some macarons photos on Facebook. I was hoping for one or two requests, but no I got 6 on the first night. Everyone ordered at least a box of macarons. It was half past three in the morning till I realize I need to get some sleep. I went to bed with a sore arm and a happy smile =)

If you're in LA and would love to try some macarons leave me a message or find Chez Ma Cuisine on Facebook!

 

Besides macarons, I have a recipe to share. It is almost Halloween and less than a month away from Thanksgiving! My favorite ingredient in the fall is squash--let it be butternut squash or pumpkin. I love them in ravioli and pureed in a bowl of creamy soup. Of course, all Thanksgiving feast must end with two slice of pumpkin pie.

I recently discovered a new way to enjoy pumpkin. I made two loaves of pumpkin bread, which I sliced up into thick, luscious slices and made a turkey sandwich. When I was assembling the sandwich, I simply buttered a thin layer of cream cheese, topped with turkey slices and a handful of spinach. There's no need for butter or mayo as the bread is moist enough. Let your Thanksgiving imagination create the perfect lunch!

 

Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves

3 eggs

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

15oz or 1 cane of pumpkin puree

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and dust some flour into two loaf pans. 

Prepare two large bowls. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in one bowl. In the other bowl, break the eggs and mix well with the oil, sugar, salt and pumpkin puree. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the bowl holding the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon and incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients until the whiteness of the flour just disappears.

Pour half the batter into one pan and the rest in the other pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

無花果 果醬

Recently I got some requests for translation of my macaron and figgy black jam recipes. I stopped blogging on Wa Ye Zao Ka--the Mandarin version of Chez Ma Cuisine. It was time consuming to keep both blogs running. They reached different regional audience and required me to reach out to a broad number of foodie sites. But no fret, I'll share some of my recipes in Mandarin here as I made Wa Ye Zao Ka invisible for the moment.

最近收到一些朋友的要求，請我分享馬可龍和果醬的做法。因為實在忙不過來我把灶哈關掉了。如果你看到一些英文食譜需要我翻譯，只要在Chez Ma Cuisine 上留言，我一定會找時間些一篇中文食譜。畢竟食物無國界！

今天要分享加翻譯的是無花果醬。其實果醬的用意和泡菜、培根一樣都是延長食物的壽命。夏天用糖醃製水果讓冬天也能享受到夏天的果實。而入冬前可以用鹽醃製蔬菜和肉類。不同於鹽，果醬需要高溫來消毒。如果你怕熱，建議你把冷氣開到最低溫然後再開始煮果醬。

無花果醬

1磅 無花果
6昂司 覆盆子
6昂司 黑莓
2杯 糖
1杯 無糖石榴汁
1顆 檸檬

第一天：
無花果去蒂切小塊 （跟覆盆子一樣大小）。取一個大碗，倒入所有材料拌勻。蓋上包鮮膜放入冰箱。

如果你有自動洗碗機，把果醬專用的瓶子和蓋子用高溫洗淨。沒有洗碗機的話用滾燙的熱水煮半個小時，然後自然晾乾。

第二天：
取一個鍋子倒入泡過糖水的無花果和berries。開大火用木湯匙攪拌，糖溶化後水會開始滾動。這時要備有吃火鍋去湯渣的濾網，盡量撈出果汁上面一層薄薄的泡沫。繼續煮約15分鐘果只會越來越濃稠。如果木湯匙從鍋子裡拿起來，左右兩邊的果汁還來不及滴落就結合在一起表示果醬已經煮熟可以離火。如果果汁迅速滴落表示還不夠熱。

煮果醬時要小心不要被濺出來的果汁燙到。糖水加熱後比滾燙的水還要熱。

果醬煮好後讓他靜置在一旁。取一個湯鍋倒入四分之一的水，開大火煮沸。

果醬靜置五分鐘後平均舀到果醬罐裡，蓋上蓋子。湯鍋的水煮沸後，取兩張厚的餐巾紙放到鍋子裡當墊底。最後再放入裝滿果醬的罐子，大火煮約10分鐘。

＊餐巾紙墊底的作用是預防玻璃罐子碰到熱鍋破裂。記得果醬煮好後也不能直接放到桌面上，要墊一塊布。
＊＊玻璃罐一定要用高溫消毒，以防裡面滋生黴菌。
＊＊＊自製果醬處理好的話保存期限一年以上。

Plum and Ginger Jam

Fortunately in California stone fruits are still visible in farmers markets and grocer stores. Before they disappear completely, I gathered a few plums and bought a handful of candied ginger from the bulk bin. I love how simple jam ingredients are...fruits + sugar!

When picking for plums, choose the soft and dark ones. It's okay if they're over ripe because they will give out more flavor in the cooking process. If you love love love ginger (which I don't), add shred some fresh ginger along with the candied ones.

Plum & Ginger Jam
fills 3 8oz jars

6 plums about 850g
sugar 350g
1 lemon
candied ginger 120g

On the first day, cut the plums in half, twist softly to separate the plums. Remove the cores and save them for later. Dice plums into half a inch long pieces. Cut candied ginger into similar size as your plums. Take a big bowl and mix in the plums, cores, and ginger. Squeeze 1 lemon then sprinkle sugar all over. Use a wooden spoon to make sure every piece of fruit is covered in sugar. Let macerate in the fridge over night.

Before cooking fruit, sterilize 4 jars and lids (you never know if you will get more or less jam). Boil a large pot of water on the side.

Using a non-reactive pot, boil fruits and juice. Remember to remove the white foam that rise to the surface as the fruits cook. Stir occasionally to make sure the bottom of the jam doesn't burn. Turn fire off when you get double drip.

Let the hot jam settles in the pan before filling the jars. Immerse jars in boiling water and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Remove from boiling water and let sit in room temperature till it's cool enough to handle and store in a cool place.

I never realized how much I love jam till I start looking forward to my Seattle trip! I found an amazing tayberry jam at the Pike Market last spring. Maybe it was two springs ago....geez time fly. Nevertheless, I am going back to my favorite gloomy city! I don't mind the cold, the wind, and the rain so much when there are so many great coffee shops to visit in Seattle. I am also looking forward to a cookbook book shop called Book Larder =) I'll update my gloomy and happy trip to Seattle early November! For now catch the tail of summer with this plum and ginger jam.

Matcha Cookie Update

Remember my matcha cookie post a few weeks ago? I was craving for a heavier matcha flavor. Some where on my tongue the chocolate chips also stole the spotlight away from matcha. This weekend I modified the recipe and made matcha the star ingredient. There is no chocolate chip, and guess what! I didn't use more matcha powder either. I made a matcha paste instead of sprinkling matcha powder on the batter.

Matcha Shortbread
yields approximately 40 cookies

150g unsalted butter, room temperature
115g confectioner sugar
2 egg yolks
15g matcha powder + 2 tablespoon hot water
240g all purpose flour

Cream the butter till pale and fluffy. Add sugar and mix together till you get a velvety batter. Add the egg yolks and mix well. In a small bowl, add hot water and matcha powder together and whip them together to get a thick green paste. Add the paste to the butter mixture. Use a spatula to distribute the matcha paste evening. Last, add the flour and combine everything together till there is no trace of flour.

Divide cookie batter into two equal balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and shape into a 3-in thick log. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350F. Slice logs into quarter inch thick cookies. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool on a rack after baking.

Pan Fried Chicken Breast Stuffed With Parsley-Walnut Pesto

If I were a Stepford wife, this would be the dish I make for my family in the evening. Even if you don't have a family to feed--I obviously don't have anyone to feed except my sweet tooth and always hungry stomach. You can just cook one chicken breast and half the ingredients for the pesto. I find the pesto a delicious compliment to turkey slices in sandwiches or with a little mayo between bagel.

I am usually not a big fan of chicken breast because they're so tough in chicken soups or as fried chicken. My friend, this is different. This pan fried chicken breast is tender and juicy with a crunchy skin on the top. You don't need to cook this meat till it's leather sole--just enough to get the meat cooked through. Even if you overcook the meat, let the parsley-walnut pesto rejuvenate the chicken breast. In between slices I stuffed a spoonful of parsley-walnut pesto.

You don't need a lot of preparation before hand, although preparing the pesto ahead of time and rubbing the chicken breast with salt and pepper makes dinner preparation much much easier.

Chicken dinner for two

For the pesto
1 medium bunch of parsley
1/2 cup walnuts
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

For the chicken
2 chicken breasts with skin
vegetable oil
salt & pepper

Rub some coarse sea salt and pepper on the chicken and set aside.

In a food processor, blend parsley and walnuts together till you get a coarse meal. While the motor is on slow speed, slowly drizzle olive oil till the food processor begin churning everything into a thick paste. Season with salt & pepper.

Heat oven to 200F. Place a large frying pan on medium-high heat, drizzle a spoonful of oil into the hot pan. When the oil is hot, place one chicken breast skin down. Let chicken cook for 5 minutes or lift one side of the chicken up to check if you get a crispy skin. Turn chicken around and cook the other side for 10 minutes. Place the cooked chicken breast on a baking sheet and let it stay warm in the preheated oven. Cook the second chicken breast following the same steps.

When the second chicken is done, turn the fire off and let the chicken stay in the pot while you take the first breast out. Carefully slice the first breast into diagonal slices, quarter inch thick. Last, stuff some pesto between slices before serving.

I had one chicken breast to myself for lunch, and it was a tad much. I would recommend serving one chicken breast for two if you and your partner in crime aren't big eaters (or if you are saving room for dessert). Definitely make a large batch of pesto because you will love love love the flavor combination of parsley and walnut. For a stronger walnut flavor, substitute olive oil with walnut oil.

Orangette

Today I'm sharing a simple snack made of orange peels and chocolate. I like to store it in the freezer and sneak out a piece or two in the middle of the night or whenever I'm craving for sweets.

Orangette

3 navel oranges
8oz sugar
8oz water
8oz bittersweet chocolate

Boil a pot of water. Meanwhile, cut the tips of the oranges off so they are flat on either sides. Cut long strips across the orange, then use your fingers to remove the strips. Thick strips make chewier candy and thin ones melt in your mouth.

Blanch the orange peels in boiling water for several minutes. In another pot, combine sugar and water and stir till sugar is dissolved. Throw in the blanched peels and simmer for 1 hour.

Drain peels from sugar water and let dry on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate in a deep bowl and dip an orange peel in the melted chocolate or simply throw in the peels and let them be covered in chocolate. Let them dry on parchment paper and store in the freezer.

Good time to use my dried up orange

Candied orange peel

Bitter, sweet, and fragrant

Dashi Risotto

Please excuse this ugly photo. I just made an incredible risotto and there was no time to take a proper picture. I can't wait to share with you. The ingredients list is incredibly simple: onion, arborio rice, mirin, and dashi stock.

What is dashi stock? It is a Japanese fish stock made of kombu (seawdeed) and bonito flakes. You can find both of these in a Chinese or Japanese supermarket.

How to make dashi stock? You start with a quart of water and a slice of kombu the length of your hand. Soak the kombu in the water for a couple of hours or overnight. Then boil the water, just before the water boils over remove the kombu and sprinkle two handfuls of bonito flakes into the water. Let everything boil for 30 minutes, strain the stock, store or use immediately.

Now that you got dashi stock, we're ready for risotto....

Dashi Risotto
Serves two
 
2 cups dashi stock
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup mirin

On low heat, keep dashi stock warm. Heat another pot on medium heat with oil and sautee onion till translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice, mix well with onion. When you hear the rice popping up against the pot add mirin. When the alcohol is almost cooked through, add two ladles of dashi stock over the rice. Stir occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom or the side of the pot. When there is barely any stock left, ladle another spoonful of stock over the rice. Repeat stirring, adding stock, and stirring until rice becomes plump and stocks are used up. Add salt and pepper any time in the cooking process. When you're down to the last ladle, watch the rice. You don't want all the liquid gone because as risotto cools it draws in more moisture.

Before serving sprinkle some bonito flakes on top. Enjoy right away--don't wait!

Cheese Rolls

Long time no see tang-zhong! The last time I used the water-roux method to make bread was back in April. I can't believe it is already autumn. Ever since my last post on chocolate layered bread, I've made bagel, pretzel, brioche, and Chinese bun (man-tou). What a nice little crumb path....

This weekend I am sharing cheese rolls, adapted from Rasa Malaysia's Cheese Breadsticks. I omitted milk powder and used a combination of grated parmesan cheese and Swiss cheese.

 
Cheese Rolls
Adapted from Rasa Malaysi'a Cheese Breadsticks

65g lukewarm water
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 egg
75g tang-zhong
30g sugar
1 teaspoon salt
195g whole wheat flour
90g all purpose flour
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk
grated or sliced cheese of your choice

Sprinkle yeast in water and let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy. In another bowl, mix together the egg and tang-zhong. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. When yeast is activated, pour yeast into egg mixture. Pour all the wet ingredients into the large bowl. Use a spatula to incorporate the wet and dry ingredient together.

Sprinkle some hand flour on the work station and take rough dough out of the bowl. Flatten the dough and add butter. Knead butter into dough, add a little flour at a time to draw in the butter. Continue kneading the dough with the heel of your hand till the dough feels smooth and stretchy under your hand. Snap a small piece of dough off, flatten with your palms, and stretch it out to see if you can form a thin membrane without tearing the dough. If dough isn't stretchy or it tears into uneven circle, knead the tiny dough back into the larger dough and knead for another five minute. Check the dough again to see if you've reached the desired consistency.

In an oiled bowl, roll the dough around the oil and let sit in room temperature covered with plastic wrap for 40 minutes or until double the size. Alternatively, place dough in the fridge and let proof for 4 hours.

Sprinkle flour on the work station and remove the dough from the bowl. Gently press on the dough to release air bubbles. Let sit on the station for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 60g pieces. Pat each dough into a rough circle and tuck the sides back in to make a ball. Continue with the rest of the doughs. Roll each ball into a 6 inch long roll. Place rolls 2 inch apart on a baking sheet. Place plastic wrap over the baking sheet and let the rolls proof for second time until they double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350F right after you cover the baking sheets in plastic wrap. Right before baking, break an egg yolk and add 2 teaspoon water and a little salt. Brush egg wash over the rolls, be careful not to let the egg wash drip down to the bottom of the roll. Egg wash can glue the bread down, preventing it from rising properly in the oven. Sprinkle cheese over the egg wash. Bake for 14 minutes. Let cool on a rack before storing it in an airtight container.