Flower Shape Bread with Red Bean Paste Filling

中文： 红豆豆沙花朵面包

Doesn’t this bread look amazing and gorgeous?  It’s actually really easy to make.  I have baked it several times, and I get the same amazing flower shape bread every time.  That is how easy it is! 

Please do remember to use dark color filling like chocolate or red bean paste like I do.  The contrast between golden brown bread and dark color filling is what makes the bread pop.

Bread ingredients:

300 g bread flour
165 to 180 g whole milk
1 large egg
20 g butter, soften and diced
30 g sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
1/8 teaspoon salt
egg wash

Red bean paste filling ingredients:

1/2 cup small red beans (available in Asian grocery store)
5 to 6 tablespoon brown sugar (use more if prefer sweeter taste)
2 to 3 tablespoon butter
3 cups water

Tips：

Dry red bean and ready to use red bean paste are both available in Asian grocery store.  I like to make my own red bean paste from scratch.  Sometimes I make a big batch and divide them into small regular portion, pack in Ziploc bags and freeze them.  When I need red bean paste for baking or cooking, I can just thaw one portion. 

Directions：

Start with the red bean.  Soak the beans for at least two hours or overnight. 

Place the beans in a small stock pot; add water to fill the pot about half inch above the beans.  Cook over medium heat until the water boils, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for 60 to 90 minutes or until the beans is soft to touch.

 Drain the cooked beans.  Transfer into a food processor (AMAZON product link).  Process the beans on high speed for 30 to 40 seconds into silky smooth red bean paste.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.  Add red bean paste, and add butter and brown sugar, 1/3 at a time.  Stir constantly to prevent sticking to the bottom and burning.  Cook until the paste is very thick.  It should have the constancy like pumpkin pie filling, maybe even a little thicker than that.

Get ready to make the dough.

Microwave the milk on high for 20 to 30 seconds.  Add to the stand mixer (AMAZON this one) container, along with yeast.  Wait for 5 minutes or until the yeast dissolves.

Add egg, flour, sugar and salt.  Knead on speed 2 for 12 to 18 minutes.  Add soften butter, and knead another 10 to 18 minutes. Kneading time depends on the dough.  The dough should pass the window panel test. It means you should be able to stretch a little piece of dough with your fingers into a really thin panel.  It can be so thin that you can see through it like a window.  That is why people call it window panel test. 

Cover the dough.  Proof it until double in size. It takes 60 to 90 minutes.  

Transfer the dough to a well dusted wooden board.  Punch down and knead gently into a ball.  Cover and proof it for another 10 minutes. 

Divide the dough into four. 

Divide the red bean paste into three. 

With a rolling pin, roll a piece of dough to a quarter inch in height.  Spread the red bean paste evenly onto the top. 

Roll out another piece of dough, and place it on top of previous one. 

Repeat the process twice.

Now we should have four layers of dough.

With a sharp knife, cut the edge into 16 pedals, leave out the center part. 

Twist each pedal towards opposite direction twice. 

Seal the edges. 

Cover and proof another 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

Brush with the top with egg wash.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Cover with a large piece of foil so that the bread doesn’t get too brown in the oven. 

Ta-dah!  Now you have a gorgeous bread flower! O(∩_∩)O~

Cool on a cooling rack.  Store it in a bread/ plastic bag when bread is lukewarm.  Or, you can just eat it up! O(∩_∩)O~

Cinnamon Swirl French Toast with Blueberry Sauce

中文：法式肉桂面包片

This is one of my favorite weekend breakfasts.  Golden brown French toasts topped with honey and blueberry sauce, 2 to 3 slices of bacon, and a cup of hot coffee are as good as any breakfast can be. O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

6 to 8 slices of cinnamon swirl bread
2 eggs
1/2   cup whole milk
a pinch of salt
butter / oil for pan-frying
honey
powder sugar

For Blueberry Sauce:

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions：

Place frozen blueberries, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a thick soup pot.  Heat over medium high heat until blueberry sauce thickens up a little bit.  It takes about 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally to prevent sauce getting burned at the bottom.

Heat a cast iron griddle over medium heat.

Whisk together egg, milk and salt. Soak each bread slice in the batter for 3 to 5 seconds.

Add butter or oil to the griddle, and pan-fry the bread slices until golden brown.  Flip them over and pan-fry the other side until golden brown too. 

Place them in a plate, sprinkle with powder sugar, and top with honey and blueberry sauce. 

Fried Cheese Curds

中文：炸芝士球

Tonight I made these easy and simple fried cheese curds.

Ingredients:

1 package of cheese curds from a local cheese store, about 300g
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup bread crumbs
oil for frying

Directions：

Heat oil over medium high heat until it reaches 375F.

In three big bowls, add flour, egg and bread crumbs.

Roll the cheese curds in flour, and then in the beaten egg, and then coat them with bread crumbs.

Deep fry the cheese curds until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and serve immediately with hot sauce (optional). 

Coco Swirl Steamed Buns

中文菜谱: 可可双色馒头卷

When I was a child, my mom always handed me a little piece of dough when I volunteered to help out in the kitchen.  I got creative with it, turning it into a bunny, a daisy flower, or whatever I could think of.  They were not at all vivid or pretty judging from an adult’s view point, but my mom was so happy to see my little creations.   Well, that might be the very starting point of my interest in cooking.

I did these coco swirl buns before.  What is different is that I use a pasta roller this time, so that the rolls are smoother and better looking, I think. 

For white dough:

2 cups of bread flour
2/3 cup + 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
2/3 to 1 teaspoon yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
flour to dust

For coco dough:

2/3 cup bread flour
2 tablespoon coco powder
1/3 cup + 1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon yeast
2 to 3 tablespoon sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
flour to dust

Directions:

Microwave the milk for 25 to 30 until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast with milk.

Add bread flour, sugar and salt for white dough to stand mixer bowl (I use KitchenAid Professional 600, good reviews on amazon); whisk well; add milk and yeast, along with vegetable oil.  Turn on the mixer.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.  That may take 8 to 10 minutes at speed 2. 

I knead the coco dough with hands.  In a large bowl, add bread flour, coco powder, sugar, and salt; mix well; add milk and yeast, along with vegetable oil. Whisk with hand until flour and milk come together.  Transfer the dough to a board dusted with flour; knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Cover both dough with plastic wrap.  Proof until they double in size.  It takes 60 to 80 minutes. 

Dust a kneading board with flour.  Punch down the dough, gently knead them into a ball again.  Cover them and let them rest another 10 minutes. 

With the pasta roller running on stand mixer, run the dough sever times.  The thickness for white dough is 1, 3 for the coco dough.

Place the coco dough sheet on top of white dough sheet, and roll from the long end like a sushi roll.

Don’t they look nice and smooth?

With a sharp knife, cut them into 2 inches wide rolls.

Line the bamboo steamer with little parchment paper (you can find this on amazon) squares.  Bamboo or stainless steel steamers are available in Asian grocery store or amazon.

Place one dough roll on each parchment paper square.

Cover the proof the rolls for the second time.  It takes about 25 to 35 minutes.

Heat a large pot with water over high heat.  Place the bamboo steamer on top of a large pot filled with water.  Steam over high heat until the water boils.  Reduce to medium heat and steam for another 8 to 10 minutes. 

Aren't they cute?

I just love the looks.  And the taste is great too. O(∩_∩)O~

Mung Bean Starch Noodle Fishes

中文菜谱：麻辣凉粉鱼儿

Mung bean starch noodle fishes, what a cute and lovely name for this dish!  It is another traditional Chinese dish served cold. It is very popular in summer time because it is refreshing and the hot chili sauce is very appetizing.

Don’t be surprised if they don’t look quite like tiny fishes.  I don’t have the special tool to do this at home.  So I use what I have to improvise.  Well, the taste and texture is great. I can promise you that. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mung bean starch
3 cup water
3 to 4 tablespoon chili oil sauce (available in Asian grocery store.  I use homemade sauce.)
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper oil (available in Asian grocery store)
2 to 4 tablespoon soy sauce
3 to 4 tablespoon aged rice vinegar or aged balsamic vinegar
2 to 1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 to 2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame paste
1 to 2 tablespoon garlic water (minced garlic with water)
4 to 5 tablespoon diced dried pickled daikon (available in Asian grocery store)
2 to 3 tablespoon crushed toasted peanut
chopped green onion
salt to taste

Directions:

Mung bean starch is different from mung bean flour.  You need the starch one for this recipe.  FYI, sometimes the package may say green bean starch.  It is the same thing as mung bean starch.  Don’t get confused.  It is not the same green bean we buy from fresh produce section here. 

Mix starch with 1 cup of water; whisk until well mixed. 

Fill a large glass bowl with ice and water.

Bring the other 2 cups of water to boil.  Reduce the heat to medium. Whisk and gradually add starch mixture.  Keep whisking until the whole batter turns transparent and big bubbles keep coming up from the bottom of the pan.  It takes about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Drain the cook batter above the iced water through a big spoon or whatever you have with peanut sized holes in it.

When hot starch batter hits the icy water, it transforms into little cute fish shaped noodles.

Remove the ice.  There they are at the bottom. 

Drain them well and place them in another big blow.  Add hot chili oil sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame paste, garlic water, diced pickled daikon, green oion, crushed peanut and salt to taste. 

Mix well and serve immediately.