No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This cotton Soft Milk Loaf is a light white bread with milk which is soft, fluffy and it's perfect for toasts or sandwiches.  The soft texture is stretchy and can be easily pulled apart with your hands.  Slice up any leftovers and freeze them, then just heat them up in the oven toaster or microwave for a few seconds for breakfast or tea.  I tried making french toasts with them and they were yummy.        Soft milk loaf  ~   軟奶麵包     Ingredients 400 gm high protein flour 1.5 tsp salt 3 Tbs sugar 3 Tbsp milk powder 1.5 tsp yeast 1 egg about 50 gm 180 gm water 40 gm soft butter Egg wash to glaze Method Pour flour into a mixing bowl, add in milk powder, sugar, salt, mix well with a ball whisk. Add yeast, mix well.  Add in the beaten egg and water. Attach the dough hook and beat till a ball of dough forms. Add in soft butter, continue beating for about 10 mins. or more.  Take out some dough and do the window pane test.  Stretch the dough into a thin layer and if it doesn't break, me

  These are healthy Banana Yoghurt Muffins made with oil, yoghurt and no butter thus making them super moist and delicious.  They are fluffy and light, packed with banana flavour, convenient for grab to go or just pop into your kids lunch box. Banana Yoghurt Muffins  香蕉酸奶玛芬                   Ingredients 180 gm plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 2 'L' eggs 5.1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1/4 cup plain yoghurt 360 gm over ripe mashed bananas 80 gm caster sugar (40 gm brown and 40 gm caster sugar) Vanilla a pinch of salt Decorate with sliced bananas, nuts (optional) Method Whisk plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Mix well. Mash the over ripe bananas in a mixing bowl. Mix in the eggs, vanilla with a ball whisk. Mix in the oil, yoghurt and whisk till fully incorporated. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (flour mixture).  Fold in till slightly moistened.  Do not overmix. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into a paper l

  This is a sweet smelling, fragrant and crispy shortbread cookie.  They are easy to make, full of flavour with spices from the Chai Tea bag and rolled in spiced sugar before baking.  Great with a cup of coffee or tea.  If you love spices, this is the cookie for you! Jumbo Chai Tea Cookies Ingredients 113 gm butter 1/2 cup oil 90 gm caster sugar (or light brown sugar) 250 gm plain flour 1 egg 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 Chai Tea bag 1/2 tsp vanilla a pinch of salt 2 Tbsp granulated sugar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon (sugar mixture) Method Sift the plain flour with baking soda, salt.  Set aside. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy, add in the oil and beat till thoroughly incorporated. On low speed, add in the egg and vanilla, mix well.   Open up the Chai Tea bag and pour the tea leaves in the mixture, mix till thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the sifted flour, mix well.  The dough is soft at this juncture. Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Prepare the sugar mixture

  These Airfried Honey Glazed Chicken Drumsticks are bursting with flavour, crispy and slightly sweetish on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside.  Unlike deep fried chicken drumsticks, these barely have any oil and the only oil there is, are from the chicken skin and fat.  Quick and easy to prepare this for dinner especially for working mums!  Airfried Honey Glazed Chicken  ~    气炸香蜂蜜鸡 Ingredients 6 chicken drumsticks 1.5 Tbsp garlic powder 1 Tbsp McCormick chicken seasoning 1.5 tsp paprika 1.5 tsp seasalt 1.5  tsp black pepper 2 Tbsp honey + 1/2 tsp water Method Wash the drumsticks.  Pat them dry with kitchen paper towel. Mix all the seasoning except honey in a bowl. Rub the seasoning onto the drumstick, giving them a good massage.  Let rest for 3 hours or more. Place the drumsticks onto the basket of your Airfryer.  Airfry @ 200 deg.C for 10 mins. on one side, flip over and airfry for another 10 mins. Meanwhile, dilute the honey with water and brush onto the drumsticks.  Airfr

  These dreamy and heavenly chocolate chip cookies will make your kitchen smell like a bakery.  There is a divine contrast between sweet and salty for the slight pinch of seasalt flakes intensifies and brings out the chocolate flavour.  Freshly baked, these cookies are slightly soft in the centre and crispy at the edges, but if you do have leftovers, these will be crunchy, stored in a cookie jar, for a few days. Seasalt Chocolate Chip Cookies    ~    海盐巧克力曲奇饼        Ingredients 170 gm plain flour 1 tsp baking soda 113 gm butter (unsalted) 80 gm brown sugar 40 gm caster sugar 1 'L' egg 1 tsp vanilla 200 gm chocolate chips 1/8 tsp salt Extra chocolate chips or mini chocolate buttons to put on top of cookie before baking Maldon seasalt flakes to sprinkle on cookie immediately after baking Method Sift the flour with baking soda and salt, set aside. In a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugars, till soft and smooth. On low, add in the egg. Fold in 1/2 sifted flour, mix well fol

  It's the durian season again and I'm sharing with you a simple yet fragrant Durian Butter Cake.  This recipe does not use the traditional butter totally, in fact there is oil too.  Liquid oil tends to make the cake softer and stays moist longer as it does not solidify at room temperature.  This cake is soft and moist with a tinge of durian flavour and aroma.  A breakfast or Tea time snack for durian lovers. Durian Butter Cake ~  榴莲牛油蛋糕 Ingredients 150 gm unsalted butter 190 gm plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 30 ml vegetable oil 85 gm caster sugar 3 'L' eggs 130 gm pureed durian flesh 4 Tbsp milk a pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Method Sift flour with baking powder and salt.  Set aside. Beat butter with sugar till well blended, add in oil and continue beating till pale and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, mix well. Add in pureed durian flesh, mix till well incorporated. Sift in again the sifted flour in 2 batches, alternating with the milk.  Fold in till well inc

  Three Cup Chicken is a very popular Taiwanese dish and it gets its name from the recipe which calls for a cup to measure the sauces, namely sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine together with some dark soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chillies and basil leaves.  This is indeed a very flavourful dish and certainly goes well with a bowl of  plain white rice......a keeper recipe for sure!  Three Cup Chicken ~ 三杯鸡 Ingredients 900 gm free-range chicken, chopped into bite size 6 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine  (the 1 Tbsp is for seasoning the chicken) 4 Tbsp light soya sauce 3 Tbsp sesame oil 1/2  Tbsp dark soya sauce 2 Tbsp sugar 12 pips garlic, chopped 10 gm ginger, sliced thinly 1 red chilli, sliced Fresh Thai Basil leaves a bit of salt Preparation Season the chicken pieces with 1/2 tsp salt and the 1 Tbsp wine for about 2 to 3 hours. Heat up a wok with 1.1/2 Tbsp sesame oil, stir-fry the seasoned chicken pieces till light brown. Push the chicken aside and add in the remaining sesame oil, garlic,

  The recipe for this Ginger Nut Chiffon Cake is adapted from my earlier post of Biscoff Chiffon Cake . As always, chiffon cakes are soft and fluffy and the crushed ginger nut cookies gave the cake an added crunch.  This cake can be enjoyed as a dessert or for an afternoon tea. Ginger Nut Chiffon Cake    ~  姜饼戚风蛋糕                        Ingredients (A) 6 'L' egg yolks 60 gm caster sugar 90 ml vegetable oil 155 gm plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 115 ml milk 1/2 tsp vanilla 60 gm ginger nut cookies, crushed (B) 6 'L' egg whites 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice 60 gm caster sugar Method Sift four with baking powder, salt.  Set aside. Using a handheld whisk, whisk egg yolks with sugar till creamy.  Add in oil, milk and vanilla, whisk till well incorporated. Sift in the flour mixture, fold in and add in the crushed ginger nut cookies. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites till frothy, add in the vinegar or lemon juice, beat till foamy, add in the sugar in 3 ba

  This Meat Floss Butter Roll is soft, chewy with a little bit of sweetness and has a buttery flavour.  As I have some meat floss at hand, I added it in to make the roll more yummy.  The roll does taste good on its own too.  Although bread making is very time consuming, but there's a difference between homemade and store bought ones and believe me homemade ones are definitely much better.  I did share before a Meat Floss Ring recipe using the tangzhong method.  You can stop by 'here'  to have a look. Meat Floss Butter Roll  ~ 肉松黄油面包卷  Ingredients 30 gm egg (beaten) 120 gm ice water 25 gm sugar 3 gm dry yeast 250 gm high protein flour 3 gm salt 15 gm milk powder 25 gm unsalted soft butter 10 gm or more beaten egg for glaze later Meat floss as filling (optional) Sea salt flakes or white sesame seeds (optional) Method Pour 30 gm beaten egg into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.  Add in ice water, sugar and yeast.   Add in high protein flour, salt and milk powder.  Attach a dou

  This mango butter cake is soft, spongy and not too sweet.  It has the flavour and aroma of mango and the buttery taste is not too dominating.  Butter can be replaced with oil but consistency will be a bit runny.  This cake can be enjoyed at all times of the day, be it for breakfast, tea or as a dessert to round off a hearty meal. Mango Butter Cake Ingredients 115 gm butter 80 gm caster sugar or brown sugar 2 eggs 100 gm mango puree 120 gm plain flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda a pinch of salt 1 tsp vanilla essence Method Puree the mango till smooth and set aside. Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside. Beat butter and sugar till creamy, light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time on low speed.  Incorporate thoroughly. Add in the mango puree, mix well. Sift in the flour mixture, mix well. Scoop the batter into a lightly greased 8.5 inch by 4.5 inch dish or loaf pan. Level the surface.  Bake in a preheated oven for about 40 to 45 mins. @ 18

Since I have recently acquired an Air Fryer I wanted to make use of it to try various recipes.  I like to use the Air Fryer as it makes clean-up very much easier and I don't have to deal with a greasy kitchen when deep frying in a pot of oil or even panfry.  Also it's more healthy as only a little oil is used and the chicken is not submerged in oil.  The crust of the Airfried Shrimp Paste Chicken is crackly and tasty and the meat is juicy too.  I kept them in the Air Fryer for about half an hour before serving and the crust was still crispy. Airfried Shrimp Paste Chicken ~空气炸锅 虾酱鸡   Ingredients 460 gm from 2 deboned whole leg of chicken (you can use bone-in chicken too) Seasoning for chicken 3/4 Tbsp shrimp paste 1 Tbsp shaoxing wine 1/2 Tbsp sugar 1/2Tbsp sesame oil 1/4 Tbsp oyster sauce A dash of white pepper Flour mixture 1/2 cup plain flour 1/2 Tbsp cornflour (helps to make the chicken skin crispy) 1/2 tsp baking powder (helps to dry out moisture before airfrying) Method Mi

  Ginger Nut biscuits have a unique blend of taste, sweet and spicy at the same time and I made my version of Ginger Nut cookies with crushed Arnotts Ginger Nut biscuits.  Ginger Nut biscuit on its own is a hard biscuit and needs to be dunked in milk to soften and enjoy it.  No mixer is required in this recipe and the cookies can be made in a relative short time.  This cookie is crunchy at the sides and slightly chewy in the centre.  You can also make this cookie with other biscuits like Biscoff or Digestive biscuits. Ginger Nut Cookies ~  姜饼曲奇 Ingredients 115 gm vegetable oil 70 gm caster sugar or soft brown sugar 1 'L' egg 185 gm plain flour 1/2 teasp baking soda 1/8 teasp salt 110 gm Arnotts ginger nut cookies, crushed 1/4 teasp vanilla essence Method Sift the flour with baking soda, salt, set aside In a mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar with a hand whisk till creamy. Break in the egg, beat and mix well.  Add in vanilla essence. Sift in the flour and fold in with a spatula