No Bake
#COOKING: FEAST FOR A KING | BLUEBERRY TIRAMISU RECIPE
Feast for a King. We’ve been on our best behaviour and it’s time for a feast! This combines all our favourites, Rib Steak, Sushi, Jumbo U.S. Spot Prawns and of course Uni (Sea Urchin), which is only available at points in the year at your local seafood market. We were so lucky to come across some so we thought we’d splurge a little! Incredibly creamy and umami, Uni might be an acquired taste for some, but it is the most amazing thing we’ve ever tasted. This feast is simple, sophisticated and elegant. And we’ve earned it!
Finish this off with a dead-simple Blueberry Tiramisu which you prepare the day before. No baking – just simple easy-to-find ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 lb Jumbo U.S. Spot Prawns
10 oz Rib Steak
10 pieces fresh Uni/Sea Urchin
1 cup Botan Calrose Rice
3 tbps Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 tsp organic raw sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
5 sheets Nori, quartered and toasted
Ground Pink Himalayan Salt
Ground Peppercorns
Olive Oil
Soy Sauce
Wasabi
Instructions:
1. Season steak with Himalayan Salt and Peppercorns, refrigerate for about 3 hours and bring out about 45 minutes before cooking.
2. In rice cooker, prepare rice. Rinse once and add 1 1/2 cups water. Cook fully and unplug once finished. Open lid and season with rice vinegar, salt and sugar. Mix gently and leave lid open to breathe. Once slightly-cooled, scoop into a serving bowl.
3. Pre-heat oven at 200°F. Place Nori on baking sheet (ungreased) and bake for about a 1-2 minutes, careful not to burn. You are toasting til crisp. Remove tray from oven right away. Stack on plate for serving.
3. Clean shrimp. Bring pot of salt water to boil and add prawns. Cook medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes till cooked. Remove from heat and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and arrange on plate.
4. Rinse Uni in cold water gently. Pat gently with paper towels till try. Arrange on plate and keep chilled till ready to serve.
5. Pre-heat Air Fryer at 400°F for 3 minutes. Brush steak sparingly with olive oil and fry for about 8 minutes. Once cooked, remove from Fryer and slice into thin strips. Season once more with Himalayan Salt. Arrange on plate.
6. In shallow small dish, combine Wasabi and Soy Sauce to taste.
7. Serve by taking Nori sheet, with one spoon of rice scooped-on. Dip Uni, Steak and Prawns in Wasabi-Soy and wrap in Nori and rice. Eat with hands.
Blueberry Tiramisu
24 Nilla Wafers or about 16 Ladyfingers
473 ml carton of Whipping Cream
250g tub of Mascarpone/Cream Cheese/Smooth Ricotta (room temperature)
2 tbsps Coffee Liqueur
2 tbsps high-grade Instant Coffee (brand suggestion: Davidoff or Maxim)
1 cup fresh Blueberries
3 tbsps icing sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 tbsps Cocoa Powder
Instructions:
1. In small bowl, mix equal parts hot water and instant coffee. Add coffee liqueur. Stir well and set aside.
2. In large bowl, use handmixer to mix whipping cream till stiff peaks form. Mix-in cheese, vanilla and icing sugar until smoooth and creamy. Do not over-mix.
3. Dip Nilla Wafers in coffee mixture quickly and layer along bottom of loaf pan/dish.
4. Spoon cream on-top. Stack with layer of blueberries and then coffee-dipped Nilla Wafers. Layer again with remaining cream.
5. Sift Cocoa Powder on-top. Cover with wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.
6. When ready to serve, scoop onto dish and top with more blueberries.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Cheesecake. We got this idea from a limited edition menu item at The Cheesecake Factory and have been mesmerized ever since. We made a few modifications and love our version too! This part-baked, part non-baked delight should be made a day in advance to let all the flavours absorb and the Cheesecake to set. 🍍🍒
Pineapple Cake:
1 can pineapple slices
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbsps sour cream, room temperature
4 tbsps whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg white
3 tbsps organic raw sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp coconut extract
13 or more Maraschino cherries
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven at 350°F.
2. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over bottom of pan and sprinkle brown sugar evenly. Line pineapple slices and cherries. Chill.
3. In bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and soda.
4. Using handmixer, cream butter (room temperature) and raw sugar in large bowl. Add egg white and extract and mix till creamy.
5. Fold-in flour mixture bit by bit till combined. Using spatula, spread over pineapples.
6. Bake 30 minutes or till center comes out clean when toothpick is inserted. Cover pan in foil half-way through, to keep cake from getting too dark.
7. Cool for an hour at least.
Cheesecake:
1 1/2 blocks cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tbsps sour cream
2 tbsps pineapple juice
3 tbsps organic raw sugar
2 tbsps icing sugar
1 cup Graham Crumbs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
4 tbsps brown sugar
2 tbsps pineapple juice
2 tsps coconut extract
Instructions:
1. In large bowl, mix butter, Graham Crumbs, brown sugar, 1 tsp extract and coconut. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, use handmixer to mix cream cheese and raw sugar. Add sour cream, pineapple juice and 1 tsp extract.
3. Whip cream fully using handmixer and gently fold into cream cheese mixture with spatula. Do not overmix.
4. Use fork to poke holes over Pineapple Cake once cooled. Spread cream cheese mixture on-top.
5. Cover top with Graham Crumb mixture, packing firmly with hands.
6. Cover and chill overnight. Flip cake over carefully and stand 20 minutes or more when ready to serve.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: STRAWBERRY-CHERRY BLOSSOM MOCHI RECIPE
Strawberry-Cherry Blossom Mochi. This is a perfect Springtime delight. Mochi are the one treat that the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese all can agree is a favourite. These chewy rice cakes are a bit quirky to Western palates, but have a pleasing chewy texture that leaves you reminiscing. Its filling, Azuki Red Bean Paste is dense and rich, a bit like chocolate and a bit like a sweet potato mash. 🍓🌸
Mochi:
3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
2 tablespoons organic raw sugar
150 ml or more water
1 tablespoon Sakura Latte powder
4 drops red food colouring
Potato starch
Azuki Red Bean Paste:
1 cup dried Azuki red beans
1/2 cup (or more) organic raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 large ripe strawberries
Instructions:
1. Soak Azuki beans overnight in water.
2. On medium heat, cook beans and water in saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer for 75 minutes.
3. Drain beans in colander and place back in sauce pan. Add sugar and salt. Mash with hand mixer.
4. On very low heat, stir paste occasionally. Cook uncovered till water evaporates and beans become a thick paste. You can tell you’re done when you take a chopstick, draw a line through it and can see the bottom of the pan.
5. Cool paste at room temperature and roll into six even balls.
6. Cut tops off strawberries and roll into red bean balls, covering them evenly. Wash hands after forming each ball and dry hands. Let stand.
7. Prepare steamer or a large deep skillet, adding water.
8. In large mixing bowl, prepare Mochi. Mix all ingredients till smooth.
9. Pour Mochi batter into a square/rectangular dish. Place dish into steamer/skillet and steam Mochi, stirring 2-3 times. Cook 10 minutes.
10. Remove Mochi from heat. Cool at room temperature a few minutes.
11. On large flat surface, sprinkle generously some potato starch.
12. Take spatula and scoop six equal clumps of Mochi. With hand and potato starch, meld each Mochi into a flat 3-4 inch portion.
14. Take each strawberry-red bean ball and place onto Mochi flat and roll gently into a ball. Bring together at bottom and pinch to seal. Place on flat sheet. Rinse and dry hands if they are sticky, before proceeding to the next. Serve. Stores 1 day.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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