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

  This is the first time that I am using self-raising flour to make muffins.  Normally I would use plain flour with baking powder or baking soda but as I ran out of plain flour and only had self-raising flour at hand, I resorted to use this instead.  The result was just as good.  This muffin is moist and soft  and the chocolate buttons paired well with the green tea flavour.  I dusted them with some icing sugar to give them a more appealing look.    Matcha Choc Chip Muffins ~抹茶巧克力玛芬   Ingredients 280 gm self-raising flour 2 'L'eggs 140 gm caster sugar 140 gm oil 1 cup milk 2 Tbsp Matcha/Green Tea powder 60 gm chocolate buttons  (extra chocolate buttons to sprinkle on top) 1/8 tsp salt Method Sift flour, green tea powder and salt, set aside. In a mixing bowl, break in 2 eggs, add sugar and using a ball whisk, whisk till light and creamy Add in oil, mix well.  Add in milk and whisk till fully incorporated. Stir in the sifted flou...

  This Cordycep flower and shredded chicken porridge is smooth, rich in flavour and comforting.  To me, this is the ultimate one-pot meal which is most welcoming for lunch or dinner especially in this hot and humid weather. The  crunchy Cordycep flowers lend a hand into bringing this porridge up to the next level. Cordycep Flowers and shredded Chicken Porridge ~  虫草花鸡丝粥 Ingredients 360 gm free range chicken (or a quarter chicken) 125 gm Jasmine rice 8 gm dried cordycep flowers 8 dried scallops, rinsed a handful of goji berries 2 tsp Shaoxing wine 1/2 cube of chicken bouillon 8 cups of water or more according to your desired consistency 3 slices of ginger Salt to taste A dash of sesame oil Method To poach the cordycep flowers -  soak the dried cordycep flowers to expand for about 10 mins.  Drain.   Then boil them with just enough water to cover, once cooked, add some salt and 2 tsp Shaoxing wine.  Set aside. Boil the jasmine rice and slices of...