Erythritol Whole Wheat Buns

I was contacted by Emerald Forest Xylitol to sample Erythritol and create a baking recipe for their Website.  For those who doesn't know, Erythritol is a natural sugarless sweetener that comes from corn.  It is 70% as sweet as sugar, but has 0 calories.  Erythritol is well known within the diabetic community as the Glycemic index is a 0, whereas sugar is 100 and anything below 55 is considered "low glycemic" and is therefore safe for diabetics.  I think this natural sweetener is ideal for the borderline diabetics as well.  Please avoid all the artificial sweeteners and consider this natural sugar free sweetener instead.  Please go to their Website as I believe there is a special going on right now (if you are interested).

I used Erythritol to replace sugar in this recipe and the outcome was identical to the original recipe I created.  I didn't bother to increase the sugar amount and we didn't miss it.  Couldn't tell the difference actually and the bread turned out soft and yummy as well.

I am also submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers # 8 and this month theme is "Bread Seduction" hosted by Sweetylicious.

Pan Roasting Cod Fillets with Brown Butter Sauce

This dish came in the right moment.  I was wondering how to prepare my cod fillet when I turned on my TV and on the PBS channel was showing AmericanTest Kitchen.  First half of the show was teaching how to sealed scallops and served it with brown butter sauce.  Second half of the show was teaching how to pan-roasting halibut fillets.  So, my cod fillet dish was set after I finished the show.  I was going to pan roast my cod fillets and served it with the brown butter sauce.

I had an accident when pan-roasting my cod fillets.  I forgot to put on my oven mitten when I tried to move the hot pan away and burnt my hand big time (remember I posted on Facebook?).  No only that, I dropped a big piece of my cod fillet on the floor. :-(  It was a burning pain experience for me, luckily the pain stopped the next morning and only left me with a red burn mark on my hand.

So, please take extra caution if you are trying to pan-roasting your fish fillets.  I probably won't be attempting this method again.  Would go for pan-steaming instead.

Verdict:  This dish turned out well and the brown butter sauce is very yummy and goes well with seafood.   But as a health conscious person, I felt that the brown butter sauce might clog my arteries.  :-P Okay, in moderation, not too often would do.

Black Pepper Crabs

Rock crab sections was on sales at my local supermarket recently.  I couldn't miss this sales and bought 2 lb. to fry at home.  The crabs sold here were all cooked and frozen.  So, basically I just defroze it and then stir-fry it again.  I do find the live ones or uncooked ones at the Asian supermarket, but I hardly go for that because then I would have to kill it and clean it.  Thus I always go for the easiest I guess.

Anyway, I loved black pepper crabs.  I had it at my friend's house many years ago, seem like a Singaporean dish at that time as well as Chili's crabs.  Strange that we don't have this dish in the Chinese restaurants here.  All they have are steamed, ginger scallion, chili garlic white pepper, and XO sauce.  They might have butter cream but I am not too sure.

Korean Scallion Salad (Pa-Muchim)

This scallion salad is usually served along side Korean barbeque in a Korean restaurant.  You can wrap this and the barbeque meat in a green lettuce leaf and eat it together.  I made this to serve it with my Hanainese chicken because I thought it would go well together with the ginger sauce and chili.  This scallion salad was indeed delicious and it would pair well with any meat dishes.

I think it is best to make this on the day you want to serve it and finish it in the same day.

Whole Wheat Milk Buns

I played with the Haiji white bun recipe and came out with my own version of whole wheat milk buns.   Even though the Haiji white bun was really soft and fluffy but it didn't make of whole wheat.  Since we are a 100% whole wheat bread consumer most of the times, I just have a love for it.  Even though this whole wheat milk bun is not 100% whole wheat, but at least it has more than 50% whole wheat in it.  See, I am pretty crazy about whole wheat isn't it?  I am as crazy about whole wheat as brown rice these days.  :-P  Start your kids young with whole wheat bread and brown rice so that these would be their staple choice in the future.

This whole wheat milk buns turned out soft and delicious as well.  It stays soft for days and now it is our breakfast and snack for the girls.  I would use this recipe to try on my pullman tin and a loaf pan next and show you my result.

[S$20 Budget Meal] Tom Yam Cream Soup

I always wanted to make the Tom Yam Cream Soup (with added coconut cream) ever since I tried the instant noodle version years ago.  I wondered how I never gotten to make it all these years, perhaps I tried to stay away from coconut milk as much as possible.  Frankly growing up in South East Asia, staying away from coconut milk was almost impossible, especially in Malaysia.  Most food was made with coconut milk either in curry form, kuih-muih, and/or dessert.

Since I had some coconut cream left, I couldn't resist putting a few tablespoons into my Tom Yam soup.  It definitely kick it up a notch being creamier and fragrant with coconut smell.  Instead of shrimps, I used Cod fillets and added a bunch of vegetable and tofu puffs.  Easy one dish meal served with my organic short-grain brown rice.

I am submitting this to "S$20 Budget Meal"  or "US$15 budget meal" hosted by Cuisine Paradise.  This month specific key ingredient is Tofu or beancurd.  I used tofu puffs in this dish and the estimated cost for this meal was about US$8.