In a bowl of lightly salted boiling water, soak the noodles for about 5 minutes or until tender. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Set aside.
In a large bowl of hot water, soak one rice paper wrapper at a time for a few seconds. Remove from the water. Pat on a dry cloth and quickly place on a work surface.
Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom third of the rice paper wrapper. Top with 30 ml (2 tbsp) of rice vermicelli, 30 ml (2 tbps) of cucumber, 3 slices of avocado and 30 ml (2 tbsp) of crab meat. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 or 3 cilantro leaves. Fold both sides of the sheet towards the centre. Firmly roll to enclose the filling. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and continue with the remaining ingredients. Do not stack the rolls as they may stick together. The rolls can be stored for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Serve the rolls with the hot sauce.
Credits to: ricardocuisine https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/6450-crab-spring-rolls
1.Whip the eggs and sugar – Beat the eggs with sugar for a whole 7 minutes until thick and glossy, it changes from yellow to white, and tripled in volume (just over double depth in the bowl).
The aeration created during this step is key for a soft, fluffy crumb. This is a technique borrowed from Japanese sponge cakes.
2. Gradually add flour – Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add into egg mixture in 3 lots, mixing for just 5 seconds on Speed 1 in between. This should make the flour just incorporated – don’t worry if there are some bits not mixed in.
3. Hot melted butter in milk – use a microwave or stove to heat milk with the butter until it melts. Believe it or not, HOT milk helps with aeration in this cake. I doubted it, so I tried with cooled melted butter in milk and found it did not rise as well.
The use of hot milk with melted butter in a cake batter is another technique used in some types of Japanese sponge cakes (such as this one from Chopstick Chronicles, a Japanese food blog). Interestingly, I recently discovered it is also used in a traditional Southern cake called Hot Milk Cakes.
4. Mix some batter into hot milk – this serves two purposes: a) bring down the temperature of the hot milk so it won’t “cook” the eggs (ie. tempering); and b) it lightens up the density of the hot milk (see above – it becomes foamy) so it blends together faster when added to the rest of the whipped egg mixture. Remember, minimal beating is key so we don’t knock out the cake-rising-bubbles we created in Step 1.
5. Slowly pour milk mixture back into whipped eggs over 20 seconds on Speed 1. Scrape down sides of bowls, then mix for 10 seconds on Speed 1 – the batter should now be smooth;
6. Pour into 2 cake pans lined with parchment/baking paper. Bake 30 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. The cake will have a slight dome but it flattens when it cools.
Credits to: recipetineats https://www.recipetineats.com/my-very-best-vanilla-cake/
Fried Noodles
1. Slice chicken into thin strips and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry cherry), 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside to marinate.
2. Wash and prepare vegetables, cabbage, carrot, bean sprout, spring onion and set aside separately to dry.
3. In a small bowl, add eggs and 1/2 tsp soy sauce then whisk into an omelette batter. Heat 1 tbs oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Pour in half the omelette batter. Cook through on both sides, remove from wok and allow to cool. Cut at an angle into thin slices and set aside. Repeat with the remaining half.
4. Bring the wok to high heat. Add 1 tbs oil and half the chicken mixture, stir fry until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove and set aside, repeat with remaining chicken. Prepare mixing sauce by adding 2 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce, 2 tbsp light soy, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp fish sauce and 1 tbsp honey in a cup or small jug. Mix well.
5. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a large pot, adding a pinch of salt. Following package directions, cook noodles until ¾ done, separating with chopsticks. For fresh noodles, cooking time should be approximately 40 seconds in boiled water then immediately place in iced water (in batches) leaving noodles cooked throughout but not soft enough to break apart.* Drain and set aside, drizzle some oil over noodles to prevent sticking.
6. Divide all items equally into portions to be stir-fried, the number of portions will depend on the size of the wok or frying pan, 3-4 batches are recommended for quantities listed above.*
Bring the wok to a high heat and drizzle with sesame oil & peanut oil. Add 1 tbs of mixing sauce followed by cabbage, carrot & Chinese sausages, fry for 1-2 minutes. Move to the edge of the wok and stir in noodles to the center along with 4 tbs of mixing the sauce, stir fry a further 2 minutes, separating the noodles whilst attempting not to break them. Stir in chicken, garlic chives and bean sprout along with remaining mixing sauce for current portion, season with a generous amount of black pepper and salt to taste, fry a further 2 minutes or until well combined and coated. Transfer and repeat with remaining portions.
Credits to: mauritianfoodrecipes https://mauritianfoodrecipes.com/all-recipes/fried-noodles-mine-frire/
Honey Baked Ham
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and arrange a rack in the lower third. Remove any plastic packaging or netting from the ham. Trim away the rind and discard. Set the ham aside to rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Line a baking tray or dish with several sheets of aluminium foil or parchment paper if you prefer (it will make cleanup a lot easier).
Remove the rind or skin of the ham (refer to steps in post), ensuring you leave the fat on. Using a sharp knife score a 1-inch-wide diamond pattern (don’t cut more than 1/4 inch deep) over the entire ham. Insert cloves into the centre of each diamond.
Place the ham in the baking tray; pour the pineapple juice into the base of the pan and cover the ham with two pieces of foil or parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small pot or saucepan over medium heat until golden browned. Add in the honey and brown sugar, stirring to combine until the brown sugar has completely dissolved, (about 2 minutes).
Reduce heat to low and let simmer to thicken slightly, then set aside and let cool to lukewarm (the glaze should be the consistency of room-temperature honey).
After 15 minutes baking time, carefully remove the ham from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F | 220°C. Discard the foil or parchment paper and pour 1/3 of the glaze all over the ham, brushing in between the cuts to evenly cover. Return to the oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, brush with another third of the glaze and some of the pan juices, and repeat again after 15 minutes more minutes of baking until a dark golden-brown crust has formed, (about 30 minutes total). For added depth of flavour, mix some of the ham pan juices together with the glaze in the pot which will help keep it runny enough for brushing.
If your crust is still pink after the suggested baking time, turn on your broiler (or oven grill), and allow it to broil for 2-5 minutes, while keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn from the sugar.
Credits to Cafedelites https://cafedelites.com/honey-baked-ham/
