Banoffee Tarts

We had a friend over for dinner last week and what a perfect excuse to put that dulce de leche to use, no? Since it was on a weekday, I resorted to making a one large dish instead of a starter and a main and then followed that with banoffee tarts. How can one go wrong with bananas and toffee and cream? Again, I took a shortcut in the form of ready made tart shells but I’ll have you know the cream was hand whipped! They went down pretty well though I think I overdid it a little with the cream!

Now I have two more tins of caramelised condensed milk… and one friend who says that I’ve so far offered him a tin every time I’ve seen him since I made them. Huh - my memory’s going, I think. Anyway, he keeps refusing - why does it scare people? It’s delicious!

Banoffee Tarts

4 individual tart shells
1/2 tin dulce de leche, (my tin was 397g)
1 large, ripe banana (can be increased to 2)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp icing sugar

Whip the whipping cream with the icing sugar until your liking. Divide the dulce the leche between the tart shells and spread on the bases. Slice the banana(s) thinly and divide among the tart shells, arranging them in an even layer. Top each tart with the whipped cream.

The original banoffee recipe also includes a bit of freeze dried coffee granules in with the whipping cream. You can add it, of course.

 

Making Dulce de Leche

Dulce de leche. Do those words make you drool yet? Thick, brown, sticky, caramelised condensed milk is all that it is and it’s awfully easy to make. I finally got around to making some when I saw tins of condensed milk at my local budget supermarket (Netto, if you must know). I bought three, as I estimated that was what my largest pot could hold, brought them home and then nervously watched them all night. And that’s without even boiling them yet!

You see, I had read a few horror stories online about how unopened tins exploded while being boiled, spattering hot brown goo all over kitchen and ceiling. Of course, I started to wonder how exactly did that goo escape? Through a small puncture or were there sharp metal shards all over the place?! Upon careful rereading, the exploding only happened when the boiling water evaporated enough to expose the tins to air, whereby the risk of their exploding increases exponentially. Other techniques for making dulce de leche involve pouring the condensed milk into a pan and then baking it slowly in the oven. Nah, I was going to risk it.

The next day, while watching the men’s Wimbledon finals (which incidentally, lasted longer than the boiling!), I placed the three tins on their sides into my stockpot and covered them with lots of cold water; they were covered by at least an inch or two. If your tins have paper labels, remove them; mine had the labels printed directly onto the tin, something I’d not come across before. The pot was set to boil for three and a half hours. Every half hour or so, I would top up the pot with boiling water direct from my electric kettle. Do make sure the tins are always covered! I checked on mine nervously every five minutes at the beginning but then realised that half hour checks were going to be ok.

After they’ve finished their 3.5 hour stint in water, turn off the heat and let the tins cool in the water. Don’t be hasty and open the tins while they’re hot as they’re still likely to spray molten goo all over you and your kitchen. When we finally opened a tin, this was what greeted us:

Oh yeah. Thick, sticky, caramelly goodness. It’s very thick and we tasted first on teaspoons. It’s sweet and slightly milky and gosh, it’s hard to describe it but you ought to try making it too since it’s so easy! I like my caramel with a bit of salt and so we next had some on crackers; salt and caramel are just perfect bedfellows.

The best part of boiling directly in the tin is that you can take those unopened tins and put them straight back into your storecupboard. I’ve read that the sugars might crystallise a bit but it’s supposedly a good thing as you get a bit of crunch.

Now I still have 2.5 tins of dulce de leche left… what shall I do with them?!

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Oh, and if you’re reading this in time, tomorrow (Saturday, 12 July 200 is the Korean Food Festival at the Fountain Pub in New Malden. More info over at London Korean Links.

 

Char Siu Pastries

I had a block of shortcrust pastry taking up valuable ice cream space in my shoebox sized freezer and I knew I had to use it up somehow. My last visit (actually, I should make that “final visit”) to Oriental City had me walk away with another boxful of the delicious roast meats from China City Express - I always ordered a mixture of char siu, that reddish barbecued pork, and siu yoke, the roasted pork with gorgeously golden brown, crunchy skin. With half a silver takeaway container of char siu on my hands, I knew I had to make these char siu pastries.

The filling was meaty and salty and sweet and the pastry crumbly. Of course, homemade shortcrust would be better but sometimes there’s just no time! And when you decide to make at 10pm, it’s nice to have the shortcut.

Char Siu Pastries
makes about 15

1.5 cups char siu, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
sugar
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water

around 250g ready made shortcrust pastry
1 egg yolk mixed with a little cold water
sesame seeds

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Toss in the chopped onion when the oil is hot and fry until translucent and perhaps even a little brown. Add in the chopped char siu and stir together until the char siu is heated through. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil and stir through. Add sugar to taste - you might like the filling to be a little sweeter. This will also depend on how salty your other sauces are. Finally, add the cornstarch mixture - this will cause all the liquid to thicken and the onion and char siu mixture will start to pull together. Set aside until cool.

Roll out the shortcrust to about 1/8 - 3/16 inch thickness. Cut into rounds a little larger than a mug diameter and fill with approximately 1 tbsp of filling. Fold in half and seal by pleating the edges. I used a curry puff maker that I purchased in Malaysia ages ago - this saved me a lot of time! Or feel free to enclose the filling using any shape you fancy. Lay on a baking tray lined with baking paper and brush the tops with the egg mixture. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

 

Tomato and Egg, Chinese Style

After many consecutive days of eating out, I really wanted some soothing, not very oily food at home. Rice was what I wanted. Rice and…. what would fit the bill? Well, it’s only been recently that a certain Chinese dish of stir fried egg and tomato has entered my repertoire and it was exactly what we were looking for - simple, though tasty, food that goes very well with a bit of fluffy white rice. All that was needed was some blanched broccoli with oyster sauce on the side.

Now, I don’t claim to be an authority on this dish; this is just the way that I cook it!

Tomato and Egg, Chinese Style
serves 2 as part of a Chinese meal with rice

4 medium eggs
1 small onion, cut in half and then sliced lengthwise
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
salt and sugar
cooking oil - I used sunflower

Heat a pan over medium heat and add some oil when it’s hot. Beat the eggs and then pour them into the pan. Slowly stir fry them - you don’t want to make scrambled eggs; there should be large egg folds. When most of the egg has set, dish it out and set it aside.

Wipe out the pan and reheat it and add oil again. Add the onion slices and stir fry for a few minutes - I prefer them softened but you can reduce the time and keep them more crisp. Add the tomatoes and stir through. Salt to taste and then add twice as much sugar as salt. Cook until the tomatoes are to your liking. They shouldn’t be hard nor should they be sauce. I like mine soft with a lot of the liquid released. Stir in the egg that you set aside and when everything is hot, plate it.

Eat with white rice and perhaps another dish on the side.

 

Cooking for One: Oyster Mushroom Risotto

I’m by myself in the flat and feeding myself has become something of a challenge. Normal recipes are almost out of the question unless the results are freezable - once, one meatloaf recipe fed me for 3 meals and half of it remained in my freezer until Blai came back. I’ve also gone the simple route - sandwiches - but that started to get boring.

What do you cook when you’re cooking for one? Do you cook each day or do you cook a few portions at a time? Or do you not cook at all? Hello, takeaway!

Usually, what happens is that I have something in the fridge that needs using up. I had some oyster mushrooms that were on the verge of going bad and thought of making a risotto with them. I always start risottos with the best of intentions and then by the time it’s finally finished, after the incessant stirring, I’m cursing the invention of risotto. But then the next time, I’ll start getting excited again… Anyway, here’s the recipe for risotto for one, with enough for leftovers.

Oyster Mushroom Risotto
serves 1 with leftovers, or 2 as a light meal

125g oyster mushrooms, torn or cut into large bite sized pieces
a splash of brandy
160 mL risotto rice (sorry, I’ve only got it by volume!)
1 small onion, finely chopped
~ 1.5 L hot vegetable stock (I used Marigold stock powder)
olive oil
butter
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan
1 tbsp creme fraiche (optional)
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Heat a saute pan or large frying pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil when hot. Tip in the mushrooms and fry until soft. Add a splash of brandy and when the liquid has reduced, take out the mushrooms and set them aside.

Place the pan back on the heat and when hot, add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pat of butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and fry gently until translucent. Add the risotto rice and make sure that each grain is coated with oil and butter. Add a ladleful of stock and stir the rice gently and constantly. When most of the liquid has been absorbed, add another ladleful and repeat until the rice is cooked through (but with a bite in the middle).

Stir through the cooked mushrooms, the parmesan cheese, the creme fraiche, and some black pepper and salt, if required. If the risotto has become a bit stodgy during this time, add a little more stock to loosen it a little then plate and serve.