Lemon tart

6 portions

Base (Can use ready tart-base from poon huat)
150g Digestive biscuit
50g Melted butter

Lemon curd
60g Butter
200g Caster sugar
120ml Lemon juice
2 Egg
2 Egg yolk
Zest of 1 lemon

• Crush digestive biscuits and mix with melted butter. Place and pack the bottom of the spring form pan. Make sure it is flat
• Put in freezer
• Set up bain marie
• Mix everything except butter, and cook over bain marie. 
• Keep stirring with a whisk
• When it starts to smoothen, and can leave a path at the back of the spoon, remove from heat
• Mix butter
• Cool the lemon curd to about 40-50 degree celcius.
• Pour gently onto biscuit base.
• Place in chiller for 2 hours to set. 
• Remove from springform pan and serve.

Prawn Risotto

4 Portion

1 litre Chicken stock (use instant cubes)
10 Prawns with shells

3 Shallots
1 tbsp minced garlic

1 cup Carnaroli rice
White wine (Riesling, Chardonnay)

2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Whipped cream (if you have time)

• De-shell and de-vein prawns. Cut each prawn into 3. Marinate in salt, pepper, sugar and sesame oil.
• Add prawn heads to chicken stock, and heat up
• Chop shallots into small bits
• Medium heat. Saute shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft
• Add in rice and coat every rice grain with oil. Blast rice until semi-transparent
• Add in enough white wine to cover all the rice
• Add in 1 ladle of stock when 1/2 of wine has evaporated
• Cook until 1/2 of stock has evaporated, then add in another ladle.
• Repeat until rice is al dente
• Stir fry prawns and set aside.
• Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese
• Fold in whipped cream for richer taste.
• Season with salt and pepper

Carbonara

1 portion

60g Pasta (Spaghetti)
2 slice bacon
1/4 Garlic
1 Shallot
1 Egg
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Course black pepper

• Boil salted water (~1 tsp salt to 700ml). Cook pasta until al dente, drain, toss with olive oil, then set aside.
• While cooking pasta, cut bacon into smaller slices and fry in non-stick pan. Set aside. Do not clean the pan.
• Chop garlic and shallots into small bits (~0.3cm)
• Add garlic and shallots to the same pan used to cook bacon. There should be fats from the bacon in the pan. Saute until fragrant.
• Mix egg with parmesan cheese and mix/beat slightly
• Add pasta to pan with garlic and shallots
• Remove pan from heat. Add in egg mixture and toss quickly in pan.
• When sauce is thicken, serve with crispy bacon

Variation: Replace bacon with crackling pork belly chunks

Guacamole

4 portions

2 ripe Avocado (make sure skin is black)

1/2 Onion

1 Tomato

1 Chili (up to preference)

1 tsp Minced garlic

1 tbs Coriander leaves

1 tsp Fish sauce

1/2 Thai lime juice

Dice 1.5 avocado

Chop 0.5 avocado to small bits

Remove tomato seeds and dice

Chop onion, and chili

Mix all the ingredients above with a fork. Smash some of the smaller avocado bits to help stick all the ingredients together

Season with salt and pepper

Serve with nacho chips or a sandwich.

Pork chill with beans

4 portions

250 g Ground Pork/Beef

1 Onion
1/2 clove garlic
1 Chili (up to your madness)

1 14 oz can of tomato diced/puree
1 8 oz can of beans

1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground paprika

Pinch cornflour + water

• Season meat with salt and pepper. Mix lightly with fork
• Chop onion and chilli to similar size (~L0.5cm)
• Mince Garlic
• Heat a pan, drizzle oil
• Medium heart. Saute onion, chilli and garlic until onions are semi-transparent.
• Add in meat, and keep stir-frying and seperate the meat to prevent big chunks of meat from forming.
• When brown texture on meat can be seen, add entire can of tomato.
• Drain the can of beans and add them.
• Add ground cumin, thyme, paprika
• Reduce
• Add in cornflour mixture to thicken.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Done

Ice cream puff

Ok, I promise I will have better photos when I'm cooking next time. So today I made ice cream puffs. I got the recipe from a demo class I attended, and I did half the portion (15 puffs). 

Pate a choux

• 120ml       Water
• 55g           Unsalted /butter
• Pinch        Salt
• 65g           Plain flour, sifted
• 3 eggs

1. Heat oven to 200°C. Place parchment paper/silicone paper/silicone mat on a baking tray/sheet.
2. Boil water, butter, and salt in a saucepan. Immediately remove from heat, add flour, and beat with a spoon (it will get very tiring for your arms from here). When it starts to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, put in back on low heat and beat for 30s more to dry it.
3. Whisk and add 2 eggs, and beat.
4. Whisk the 3rd egg in a bowl. You should get a shiny dough which just falls off the spoon. If not, add a tbsp of the egg, and mix thoroughly. Repeat until desired consistency is achieved.
5. Transfer dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 1.25 cm plain tip and pipe 4cm mounds on the baking sheet. Use a wet finger and press the "tail" to make a flat top.
6. Bake for 25-30min
7. Cut, and fill with ice cream of choice.

What knifes to buy for your kitchen

Firstly, let's look at what blades are the best.
I still think metal blades are the strongest, most durable, and economical compared to ceramic ones. The knife should be full tang. And if you can afford it, look for one that is hot-forged. Then you'll have a blade that is made pretty much the same way like how Aragon's sword was made. And of course, alloys are always better. I would love to own one set of these knives below, if I can bear with parting with my money.

For starters, you can buy a knife block set, or just the following knifes.

Chinese Cleaver

At home, you probably will just need the smaller version, because you are not the butcher. A slightly heavy one is good because you will need the weight to help you hack through bones and coconuts. 

Chef's Knife

Here's a picture of one with the anatomy. Bolster are good to have and are usually found in forged knives only; it protects your fingers. Handle must be comfortable and gives you confidence to use it. You should feel like Kurosaki Ichigo on bankai mode when you hold it. And always sharpen it, because it will cut everything and become your favourite knife.

 

Serrated/Bread Knife

This helps you cut through food with a hard skin and soft core, like bread or tomatoes. Or things that you crush on your first try cutting it with a Chef's Knife. 

Paring/fruit Knife

For smaller tasks, and when you need to use a knife in the living room to peel some onions or eat some fruits while watching TV. Just them as a weapon like 小李飛刀. Kidding.

The other knifes, just get them when you really start to cook alot more and need to use them. Otherwise, please don't buy and let them rust in your kitchen.