Okonomiyaki

Hey Everyone,

So, this week I'm making a popular Japanese dish called okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is an incredibly versatile dish which is translated into "how you like" from "okonomi" and "grill" from "yaki". They are often called "How you like it pancakes", though the name is a bit of a misnomer as they don't really have the same texture or taste.
The savoury pancake is called the "how you like it pancakes" because after the two staple ingredients of the batter and cabbage, you can add whatever you like as a topping - this can be anything from meat and seafood to wasabi and cheese. The recipe I used contains spring onions, ginger and carrot with a topping of wasabi mayonnaise and toasted sesame seeds, a combination with amazing results!

Japanese-Style Shredded Vegetable Pancakes - From a Waitrose magazine

Prepare Time - 10 Minutes
Cooking Time - 10 Minutes
Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients -

• 100ml Vegetable Stock, cooled
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Large Eggs
• 50g Plain Flour
• 2 Tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Ginger
• 4 Salad Onions, finely chopped
• 65g Pointed Cabbage (about 3 leaves), stalks removed and very thinly sliced
• 1 Large Carrot
• 1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil

To Serve

• 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1 Tsp Wasabi Paste
• 1 Tsp Sesame Seeds, toasted
• Sushi Pickled Ginger

1. In a bowl, whisk together the stock, soy and eggs until well combined. Place the flour in a separate bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the stock mixture. Whisk to a smooth batter, then stir in the ginger, salad onions, cabbage and carrot.

2. Heat half of the oil in a small (about 21cm) frying pan. Spoon in half of the mixture and cook over a medium heat until a golden crust starts to form around the edges and the bottom is golden and set.

3. Use the spatula to flip the pancake over and cook for 3 minutes more until set. Tip out onto a chopping board and repeat with the remaining mixture.

4. Mix together the mayonnaise and wasabi and spoon into a small bowl. Then, cut each pancake into wedges and serve with the wasabi mayonnaise, toasted sesame seeds and pickled ginger alongside.

Please Enjoy!!!

Soft Pretzels

Hey Everyone,

Whilst some people may have expected a post about Easter, I've really wanted to make these for a while, so I'm making them instead! This week I'm making pretzels - not the small, harder ones, but the massive soft ones! This type of pretzels has a very distinctive bread-like fluffy inside and a dark brown shine on the outside which provides a chewiness to the outer crust, not dissimilar to a bagel.
Whilst I haven't actually put a topping on my on my pretzels, but you can add seeds or salt if you want - its nice sugared too! This bread takes 45 minutes to prove, so you have plenty of time to shape and bake your pretzels so they're perfect!

The reason these pretzels and bagels have such a similar crust is due to the way they have been cooked. Both of the breads have been twice cooked, first poached and then baked after. The distinct chewy crust is obtained from the bicarbonate of soda added to the poaching water - remember that when adding it, all the water will froth up, so be careful! Whilst poaching, keep a very close eye on the pretzels as the two minutes are over in the blink of an eye, and you won't want them to get too soggy!

At first, looking at the shape of a pretzels may seem daunting, but a pretzel knot is surprisingly easy to do with the right visual cues! All it takes is three short steps, so I've added the three pictures below so that you have a guide when attempting to knot it - I don't think that writing "loop it round like this" will be very helpful without knowing what "this" means in context!

If you do end up making them, I'd advise eating them on the day you make them, as even in an airtight container, the day after they gain a sort of weird sogginess - not the texture you want in a pretzels , or any type of bread! Sometimes during the poaching you may find that the pretzels' shape distorts a little, but don't worry, once its out of the pan and on the tray, you can alter the shape - though be warned the dough will be very hot as it has just been in boiling water.

Soft Pretzels - From "The Children's Book of Baking Bread"

Makes 8

Ingredients -

• 400g Plain Flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp Fast Action Yeast
• 1 Tsp Caster Sugar
• 3/4 Tsp Salt
• 40g Butter
• 250ml Hand-Hot Water
• 100g Bicarbonate of Soda

For the Topping -

• 1 Medium Egg
• 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds (Optional)

1. Line the baking tray with parchment. Put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a big bowl. Mix them together with a wooden spoon. Put the butter in a medium pan. Heat gently until the butter melts. Take the pan off the heat. Pour the hand-hot water slowly and carefully into the pan.

2. Then, pour the butter and water mixture into the big bowl. Mix well, then. use your hands to bring everything into a ball. Dust a clean surface with flour. Knead the dough for around 5 minutes, or until smooth and springy.

3. Oil a large bowl. Put the dough in the bowl. Cover tightly with a plastic food wrap. Put in a warm place for around 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. Oil a clean surface and your hands. Put the dough on the surface and knead for around 3 minutes to squeeze out the tiny air bubbles.

4. Heat the oven to 220°C/400°F/Gas Mark 4. Put 2 litres of cold water in a saucepan. Put a lid on and put the pan over a high heat. While the water is heating, cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll one piece into a thin sausage around 70cm long. Take one end and loop it around like this (see first picture).

5. Loop the other end around in the same way (see second photo). Then, hold one end in each hand. Twist them around each other, so the ends swap places (see third photo). Pat the ends down, so they stick. Put the pretzel on the baking sheet. Roll and twist all the other pieces of dough in the same way to make 8 pretzels.

6. When the water is bubbling, turn of the heat. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Lower in 2 pretzels. Wait for 2 minutes, lift them out and put them back on the baking sheet. Do the same with the other pretzels. Separate the egg. Brush the egg yolk over the pretzels and sprinkle on any seeds. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until dark brown and shiny.

Please enjoy, and for those of you who are interested, why not visit my other post of bagels?!!

http://cinnamondoughnuts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/bagels.html

Malay Fried Rice

Hey Everyone,

So this week we literally had the ENTIRE family over for dinner - well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but 10 people is still a lot, right? Anyway I - for some reason - volunteered to cook for the masses, and what better to make than a foolproof dish from Mary Berry?
I decided to make something different, and due to it being fairly simple, it was Malay Fried Rice that I chose to make, from a recipe book I'd got for Christmas two years ago. It was met with approval by all, though my older brother said it was nothing like that food he'd had in Malaysia - not that he was complaining as it was still really tasty, so I think we can forgive Mary Berry for that!
The original recipe cooked for 6 people which entails enough chopping in itself, so maybe stick to cooking for less people, for those of you with less time on their hands!

Malay Fried Rice - From "Mary Berry Absolute Favourites" By Mary Berry

Serves 6

Ingredients -

• 250g Long-Grain Rice
• 150g Frozen Petit-Pois
• 5 Tbsp Oil, plus extra for the eggs
• 2 Skinless, Bonless Chicken Breasts, sliced into strips roughly the size of your little finger
• 1 Tbsp Runny Honey
• 2 Large Onions
• 3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 1 Red Pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice
• 200g Button Mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 Tsp Medium Chilli Powder
• 1 Tbsp Curry Powder
• 4 Tbsp Soy Sauce, plus extra to serve
• 6 Eggs
• Salt and Freshly Black Pepper

1. Tip the rice into a pan of boiling, salted water and boil according to the packet instructions, adding the frozen peas 3 minutes before the end of cooking. Drain well and set aside.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the chicken strips and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle in the honey and toss over a high heat for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is golden all over and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Pour the remaining oil into the same frying pan, add the onions, garlic and red pepper and fry over a high heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and spices, stirring well to combine, and fry for a further minute. Tip in the cooked rice and peas, add the chicken strips and soy sauce and toss together over a high heat, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Heat with a little oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and fry the eggs until the whites are set.

5. Divide the chicken and rice between plates, placing one fried egg on top of each portion. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper to taste and serve with extra soy sauce if you like.

Please Enjoy!!!

Pear Pies

Hey Everyone,

I know I haven't done many of these recently, but finally, I'm posting something sweet!
These individual pear pies are made in ramekins with buttery puff pastry, and are full of sugary goodness! Whilst they seem to take an AGE to bake, they're relatively east yo make - in fact all you have to do is roll out pastry, peel pear, assemble, bake, done!
The crushed cardamon seeds combined with the dark brown sugar really make the pears more tasty and they almost have the texture of being poached once out of the oven.

If you can see in the picture, I haven't put the pastry around the pears in the way that the recipe asks - this was simply for convenience as I was beginning to run out of time. This means that if you are making them, don't follow my picture if you want the finish the recipe says, as they shouldn't look like that!

Pear Pies - From "The One and Only Pies and Tarts Cookbook"

Prep Time - 20 Mins
Cooking Time - 30 Mins
Serves 4

Ingredients -

• 500g Puff Pastry
• 4 Ripe Pears, peeled with stalks still intact
• 1 Tsp Cardamon Seeds, crushed
• 4 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 3-4 Tbsp Demerara Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Grease 4 deep ramekins or bowls. Divide the pastry into 4 and roll each piece into a circle larger than the pears. Reserve the pastry trimmings.

2. Mix the cardamon seeds and sugar and sprinkle on the pastry circles. Put a pear upright on each pastry circle and brush the edges of the pastry with water and fold the pastry to come about three-quarters up around the pear. Put into the ramekins.

3. Roll out the pastry trimmings and cut 4 wide strips. Dampen the edges and attach to the edge of the ramekins. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the pears are soft.

Please Enjoy!!!

Floury Baps

Hey Everyone,

I know bread three weeks in a row! This is another quick and easy recipe from one of my favourite recipe books that my uncle got me for Christmas by the Fabulous Baker Brothers. I could make literally anything and everything in it, but this week I'm making simple but tasty baps, perfect for a breakfast sarnie or to fill with goodies from the barbecue!
These were made in my house specifically for the morning, because there is nothing better than a full English breakfast with fresh bread to start the weekend! Floury baps will only take a brief period of time to be kneaded, with only one and a half hours to prove. This means if you have to willpower to get up early, everyone can easily have fresh, soft bread for breakfast!

Floury Baps - From "The Fabulous Baker Brothers" by Henry and Tom Herbert

Makes 4

Ingredients -

• 5g Dried Yeast
• 50ml  Tepid Water
• 250g Strong White Flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 Tsp Caster Sugar
• 10g Butter
• 5g Sea Salt
• 100ml Tepid Milk
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Poppy Seeds, to sprinkle over (Optional)

1. Stir the yeast into the tepid water and set aside to dissolve.

2. Weigh the flour, sugar, butter and salt into a large bowl and add the milk. Add the dissolved yeast and mix thoroughly into the dough. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 minutes until it is soft and elastic. Leave to rise for 1 hour in a covered bowl in a warm place.

3. Divide the dough into 4 and, on a lightly floured surface, roll into balls with the palms of your hands.Then, using a rolling pin, flatten them slightly. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. You don't need to leave much space around them; they can rise into one another.

4. Using a fine sieve, dust with flour for a traditional finish, or, if you're going shiny and seeded, brush beaten egg over each bap.Cover loosely with cling film and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

5. Brush with a second coat of beaten egg and sprinkle with a pinch of poppy seeds, if using or finish them the Blackpool way with another dusting of flour. Cover loosely with cling film and leave for a final 30 minutes to rise.

6. Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Bake the baps until they are perfectly golden, about 12 minutes.

Please Enjoy!!!