Hokkaido Milk Loaf （北海道面包）

I often asked myself, why have I not attempt to bake one of the top favourite bread loafs around. If you are wondering which one I am referring to...well, it is none other then the Hokkaido Milk Loaf itself. Perhaps I have been waiting for the right Hokkaido milk to come by? ~Excuses Or maybe I needed to explore more in this dairy product. Or perhaps I just didn't quite come up with the right recipe as yet. 

I was perfectly happy with the usual brands on the dairy aisle. It just never occurred to me to try Hokkaido fresh milk. Well, until I got to taste Yotsuba's Hokkaido Fresh Milk. Yup, it was my maiden "encounter" with Hokkaido fresh milk. 

Yotsuba Milk Product Co., Ltd. has been in this dairy business for more then 5 decades which they were established in 1967. Yotsuba seeks safety and top quality milk for their consumer by pledging to value nature status, delivery safety and high-quality goodness. And in order to harvest top quality milk, the company raise their milk cows in a no-stress environment where the animals roam freely in the vast green pasture in Hokkaido. And with the care and attention from the dedicated farmers from Yotsuba, those happy cows produces quality milk. From raw fresh milk, to processing, to packaging and right to the consumers' door steps, every glass of creamy goodness is ensured at it's best quality.

I can understand why the pricing is fairly higher ($6.45 each liter) then the usual milk brands. It having a more superior taste and that unwavering dedication from the company to deliver the best to the consumer. And we all know Hokkaido's magnificent natural environment has always allowed the milk cows to produce one of the finest dairies around the world. Like the Chinese always say, "一分钱，一分货“.

My take after tasting the Hokkaido Milk? Creamier, slight tone of sweetness and still having that clean finishing taste that doesn't leave that sticky mouth feel. 
Yup, I do like it very much. And it goes without saying, I was so gonna to bake with this awesome ingredient.

And so, may I present to you, my very first Hokkaido Milk Loaf using Hokkaido Fresh Milk.

This was actually my 2nd experimental bake using the Hokkaido milk. The latter was a much more successful one and thus I shall be sharing the recipe with everyone. 

I was thrilled the moment I received the fresh milk. Who doesn't? 3 litres of fresh Hokkaido milk right at my doorstep haha!

Wanted to use the milk when they are still fresh, I got to work immediately to bake that Hokkaido bread loaf. And no, don't even think about it. You cannot substitute this recipe with normal milk. Totally defeats the purpose of baking this Hokkaido Milk Loaf recipe in my opinion. 

Did some read up online and found that almost all of the Hokkaido bread recipe uses the "TangZhong" (汤种）method. Never really liked the "TangZhong" method because somehow the bread does not stay soft the following day. So I went ahead and came up with a straight  forward, straight dough method. The result was perfect if I dare say so myself. Comparing the 2 attempts, the latter actually yielded a fluffier and tastier bread loaf.

Ingredients for Hokkaido Milk Loaf (Makes a 9"x5"x4" loaf)

350 g bread flour

40 g caster sugar

5 g instant active yeast

3 g salt

210 ml Hokkaido fresh milk from Yotsuba

30 ml heavy cream

30 g unsalted butter at room temperature

• In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients except the butter.
• Knead it well using the hook attachment, the dough will slowly come together.  
• Knead everything together at medium low speed. Dough will be sticky at first but continue to knead for 5 minutes and break 3 minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl.

• Add in the butter and continue to knead till it is very elastic and reaches the window panel.

• This is how you can check whether you have reached the window stage, stretch the dough really thin without breaking it and you can literally see through it. 
• Leave the rolled dough in the greased bowl and let proof for 1.5hr or till it is doubled in size.
• Once done proofing, stick a finger in and if the dough doesn't "bounce" back, it is ready. 

• Divide the dough into 4 portions of 150 g. You will be left with about 40-45g of extra dough. You can fill it with Nutella or just wrap it around a hotdog. 
• For the loaf, take one of the 150 g dough portion and roll it out flat into a square shape. 

• Then fold in both the left and right side as shown below:

• Then roll it up from one end (the shorter side) into a swiss roll, then seal up the edge by pinching the dough.

• Repeat with the remaining 3 portions and place it in a greased loaf tin to proof.

• Preheat the oven to 175C while waiting for the bread to rise. When ready, bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes till golden brown.

Remove from the oven and immediately remove the loaf from the baking tin. Else moisture will build up in the tin and the base of the loaf might get all soggy. Slice the loaf only when it has been completely cooled.

Well, I did not exactly slice the loaf this time. Wanted to show the fluffy and fine texture of the bread. And seems like tearing a chunk off does the trick....oops I did it again.

The picture pretty much speaks for itself. In terms of taste, it is richer and milkier then the other plain milk loafs I have made. Since I did add 3 kinds of dairy into the recipe ( Hokkaido milk, unsalted butter and heavy cream), which really boost that milky rich flavour. And I do believe the Hokkaido milk from Yotsuba's Hokkaido Fresh Milk does makes a difference in this recipe verses using a normal milk. 

Hope I have not only persuade you enough to try baking this Hokkaido bread, but also to give Yotsuba Hokkaido Fresh milk a try as well. As I strongly believe the quality speaks for itself. This Hokkaido fresh milk will be available in Fair Price Finest or Xtra at 1 Sept and soon in Cold Storage. I love the fact that it is available in NTUC and not in some Japanese grocer. So go grab yourself some! 

In the meantime, do what you love and stay happy guys

Pandan Chiffon Cake (with coconut oil)

I realise I never actually posted a pandan chiffon cake recipe before. @_@ Weird I know...that is probably one of the most baked and blogged about recipe on this whole media platform. :P I probably thought I did a write up before but I never did. Talk about goldfish memory. What's better was I came up with this recipe because I wanted to use up that bunch of fresh cut pandan leaves that is wilting by the day!

Well I guess it is better late then never! And better yet, this bake is a healthier rendition. Skipping the use of coconut milk and incorporate it's healthier counter part, coconut oil instead. WooHoo! Me love coconut oil!

Difference in taste is pretty much insignificant to me. And the thought of this being the healthier bake, even if it was not as amazing as the original, I would still go with this one. Like I always say, eat healthy and stays healthy...if possible lah. By removing the coconut milk, it reduces much of the cholesterol. Using superfood coconut oil, it is still really fragrant and 

Note that I did not want to introduce other forms of liquid (i.e. water) into the batter, so I used the evaporated milk to blend with the pandan leaves.

Ingredients for Pandan Chiffon Cake (Makes a 20-22cm tube pan size)

70 g egg yolk (~4 large)

8 pandan leaves

160ml evaporated milk

100 ml coconut oil

120 g cake flour

180 g egg white (~4 large)

100 g caster sugar

• Snip the pandan leaves into smaller pieces. Place them into the blender together with the evaporated milk.
• Blend till all the pandan leaves are pulverised and well combined with the evaporated milk.

• In a large mixing bowl, add in the egg yolks and using a kitchen gauze cloth, sieve the pandan mixture through it and into the mixing bowl. Be careful not to get any of the pandan leaves into the bowl, you don't want to taste that in the cake.

• Weigh and add in coconut oil.

• Whisk the mixture till it is well combined. Sift in the cake flour and mix it well again.
• Preheat the oven to 165C.
• Beat the egg whites till foamy, then gradually add in the caste sugar and beat till stiff peaks.

• Fold in the egg whites in 3 separate portions to the egg yolk batter. Making sure it is well incorporated and at the same time not over beating it.

• Pour the batter into a 20-22 cm tube pan. And use a tooth pick to run through the batter to remove any air pockets that might be trapped inside.

• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or till the cake tester comes out clean.
• Once baked, remove from the oven and invert to cool completely before removing from the tube pan.

I suck big time at removing the chiffon from the tube pan...and that is why that 50 shades of brown. :P But a well baked chiffon should not give you too much of a problem in removing it anyways. 

The fluffy soft texture of the cake. Nope, the coconut oil replacing the coconut milk did not make it any less tasty...at least it is that for my end. Do try it out and find out on your own.

Hope this last shot is enough to convince you to give this healthier rendition a try. ;) 

Where you can buy coconut oil:

• NTUC finest or Xtra where the organic food section is.
• Gobuylah.sg, search for "Coconut oil", a couple results will pop up. Delivery is free of charge.

Happy baking guys!

Claypot Chicken Rice （瓦煲鸡饭）

I have so many backlogs these days it scares me sometimes. :P But I know I just need to plan out my time properly and all will be good.....or not? Nowadays doing a post is a leisure, really. But I know there are people out there that can do way more then I and still make their blog looks like all professional with amazing photos and detailed write-ups.  Anyway, enough ranting, I am better off "ranting" about the recipe I am about to share with you all. The delicious and homey Claypot Chicken Rice. Somehow eating claypot rice just gives me that nostalgic feeling, don't you?

Perhaps it's the way it is served. All tossed and mixed, with that rustic feel. Or perhaps it's the ingredients and taste it has, that resembles a traditional dish served at home. Whatever it is, this is a dish that every household should learn how to make. 一家人吃同一煲饭。

The ingredients are relatively easy to gather, let's take a look at them now:

Ingredients for Claypot Chicken Rice (Serves 4-5 pax)

You will need a 20-22cm claypot

150 g plain rice

150 g glutinous white rice (soaked for 1hr)

1 knotted Pandan leaf

450 ml clear chicken stock or water

2 chicken drumstick, 2 chicken thigh and 2 chicken wings, chopped smaller

3 garlic, peeled minced

8 Shallots peeled and sliced thin, 3/4 to fry till golden crisp, 1/4 to cook with chicken

5-6 slices of ginger

2 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked till soften and chopped

3 dried shiitake mushroom, soaked and soften, sliced thin

1/2 Chinese sausage, soaked in warm water, remove casing and sliced thin

Note: Reserve the mushroom soaking water for cooking the rice later. Extra flavouring!

 

Marinate for Chicken

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine 

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Seasoning for toppings

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp sugar

Topping / Garnish

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

Crispy fried shallots

2 tbsp sweet dark soy 

• In a mixing bowl, place the chopped chicken pieces, followed by the marinate ingredients. Mix well and let it sit for a good 30 minutes before use.
• Heat up the Claypot with some cooking oil over medium fire. Add in the minced garlic, sliced shallots and the ginger slices, Cook till aromatic and slightly soften.

• Add in the chopped dried shrimp, chinese sausage and shiitake mushroom slices. Cook for a couple more minutes until you can smell the aromatic. 

• Next, pour in the marinated chicken pieces and start cooking together with the other ingredients. Add the Seasoning for Topping. Stir and coat well.

• Cook the chicken mixture still it starts to simmer. Cover and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes on low fire.
• Once cooked, remove from the claypot and set aside.

• No need to wash the claypot at this point. Just add in both the uncooked rice, the knotted pandan leaf and 450 ml water / Chicken stock.

• Bring it to a simmer, cover and let cook at low fire for 15-18 minutes. You can peep open after 15 minutes to check if it is cooked. Bare in mind you need to use the lowest fire, else the base will all be burnt. :P

• Remove the knotted pandan leaf. Add the cooked chicken pieces and ingredients all on top.

• Sprinkle the chopped green onion and fried crispy shallots over the top.

Of course the dish will not be complete until you drizzle that black elixir over...I mean sweet dark soy sauce. :P

If this doesn't look good to you...I surrender haha! 

Give it a good toss and mixing...you are ready to eat! So simple to prepare and so delicious too!

You can replace the chicken dark meat to chicken breast for a healthier version. Or a more sinful one will be roast pork. :9 Whichever the variation, the other ingredients can be kept constant. 

Do try it out and let me know how it works for you. Happy cooking y'all!

Pulut Hitam (Black Glutinous Rice) Bread Buns with Coconut Cream Cheese 黑糯米面包

I guess to many, it comes with no surprise that I will eventually churn out this recipe. Exploring new flavours can be really fun, even though the end result can't be guaranteed. But applying the same bread baking techniques, it should pretty much be a success. But I realise I am posting up quite a fair bit of bread recipes lately. :P Old habits hard to kick. Yay to carb love! This Pulut Hitam bread is another keeper, especially useful when you have left over Pulut Hitam BuBur. Hop over to my previous post for the dessert porridge and Pulut Hitam chiffon cake recipe of you missed it. ;)

Eh...pardon that liao liao (wrinkly) look on the buns. I guess my shaping skill can still use some more practice. :P But the dough is actually quite easy to handle or shape. I probably got greedy and stuffed too much filling and thus this "abstract" look on them. Anyway, like my better half would always comfort me "Ai ya, delicious can already lah!". :P

From the ingredients, you can already how fragrant and rich these buns are. Added both coconut cream and fresh milk, but you can opt to use all coconut cream. But as for the butter and coconut oil, I suggest adding both. Coconut oil gives it that super nice aroma and butter makes it creamier after taste. So yeah, don't skim on those fats. :P

Ingredients for Pulut Hitam Buns (with coconut cream cheese) 

350 g bread flour

100 g Pulut Hitam Bubur (Black glutinous rice dessert porridge, thick, refer to here fore recipe)

30 g caster sugar

1/3 tsp salt

5 g instant active yeast

90 ml coconut cream

110-120 ml fresh milk

20 ml coconut oil

25 g unsalted butter, room temperature

• In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients except the butter.

• Knead everything together at medium low speed. Dough will be sticky at first but continue to knead for 5 minutes and break 3 minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl.

• You can see from the above pic that the dough is soft and elastic but has already pulled away from the mixing bowl. At this point, add in the room temperature butter and continue to knead again. Once the dough pulls clean away from the side of the bowl, it is ready. You can test by doing the window panel test. Taking a portion and stretch it and if you can stretch it to the thinest and yet doesn't break it, thats window panel stage.

• Place the dough back in the bowl but make sure you grease it with some oil or butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof till doubled in size or for 1.5hrs.

• Punch out the air and weigh out 15 portions of 40 g (total 600 g) of dough. Any left over buns can be made into any other small buns of your reference. (Have fun shaping and use your creativity!). 
• In the meantime, you can make the coconut cream cheese filling. You can opt to leave them plain or fill them with some other ingredients like red bean paste etc.

Coconut Cream Cheese Filling 

200 g cream cheese room temperature

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp confectioner's sugar (sifted)

- Mix all the ingredients together till creamy and smooth.

• Take one of the 40 g dough portion. Press it flat into an oval shape. Place about one tbsp of the coconut cream cheese filling on the wider surface top. Then seal up the edges, and the bun will look at a drumstick.

•  Note that the middle bun will be all round, no need to shape it like a drumstick. 

• Repeat for the rest of the dough portions and carefully place them into a greased 8" round baking dish. Then cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 175C.

• Bake in the preheated oven for 25-28 minutes till golden brown. Remove from baking dish and let cool on the rack completely before storage...or just tear off a bun and enjoy!

My kitchen... in fact my whole house was filled with such wonderful aroma! Coconut and pulut hitam seems like the prefect combination. 

With the addition of cooked glutinous rice to the dough helps makes the dough extra soft and moist.

Hope this last shot will convince you enough to give this recipe a try. Fluffy goodness~!

So the next time you cooked Pulut Hitam BuBur, and have some left over (or just purposely set aside 100g), make sure you bake these fluffy buns. ;)

Happy baking and enjoy your day ahead everyone!