2015年3月25日星期三

How to Make Flatbread With Baking Soda




















Flatbread used to be one of my favorite breakfast back home in China. I do not know how it is made, and I believe its recipe is way more complicated than mine.
My flatbread recipe is a much simplified version. I made it up based on my memory of the taste, and it is indeed easy, and tastes good.



Ingredients:

1.One egg
2.Milk
3.Honey
4.Oil
5.Wheat or white flour
6.Salt
7.Baking soda
8.Garlic powder
9.Curry powder
10.Black pepper
11.Green Onions
12.Cumin seeds
13.Sesame seeds


Step 1

Mix all the dry ingredients together, including:
1. Flour (2 cups)
2. Salt (1&1/2 tbsp)
3. Baking soda (1/2 tbsp)
4. Garlic powder
5. Curry powder
6. Black pepper
7. Cumin seeds
8. Sesame seeds





Step 2

Mix one egg with honey, oil (2 tbsp), and green onions. (Green onions could be added either in the first or the second step.)








Step 3

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Stir with a spoon.












Step 4

Pour milk into the mixture. (A little at a time.)












Step 5

Add some more milk, and stir again.













Step 6

...Until the mixture is able to form a dough, which is not too sticky.










Step 7

Knead the dough until smooth. Roll it into a sausage shape. (It is easier to roll if you divide the dough in half.)










Step 8

Cut the dough into several equal pieces.












Step 9

Sprinkle some flour on the chopping broad.
Take one piece, and flatten it into a rectangle shape. (A rolling pin is not necessary. I did it with my hands.)







Step 10

Flatten the rest the same way.












Step 11

Put the pan over medium heat until it turns very hot. (Usually costs 2 to 3 minutes.)

Place two pieces at a time in the dry pan.







Step 12

When the bottom turns brown, flip them over. Cook until the bread rises a bit, and both sides get brown and crispy.








Step 13

Usually, it takes 2 to 3 minutes to fully cook them. After the first two, repeat the same procedure for the rest ones.








Step 14

While cooking, the pan is gradually getting hotter, and thus the bread would get cooked much more quickly by the end.
Therefore for the rest half, you may consider cooking over low or medium-low heat.






Step 15

Eating those flatbread only may taste dry, so why not try with some cold milk. The two complement each other well and taste rather perfect.












































2015年3月14日星期六

Baked Chicken Recipe



Speaking of baking a chicken, the most important part (for the way I usually cook) is to make the right sauce.


So, I am going to show my favorite homemade sauce in this recipe.







Ingredients:

1. 6 or 7 tbsp Brown/white sugar (I use brown sugar for the color)
2. Corn starch (used as a thickener of the sauce)
3. 2 tbsp Salt
4. 3 tbsp Vinegar
5. 2 tbsp soy sauce
6. Black pepper
7. Chilly powder
8. Cumin seeds
9. Sesame seeds
10.1 tbsp oil
11. One whole chicken (Or half)



Step 1:

Make corn syrup, which is easy and simple. Here is a short video online explaining the steps.


And here is my simplified version:

1. Put 7 tbsp brown sugar in a pan.

2. Pour in water just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Wait for it to boil.

3. Mix 1 tbsp corn starch with around 5 tbsp water, and pour the mixture into the pan.

4. Stir for a while until you see the syrup form, which costs around 3 minutes.





And here is how it looks like:




Step 2:

Add other ingredients, including:

1. 2 tbsp Salt
2. 3 tbsp Vinegar
3. 2 tbsp soy sauce
4. Black pepper
5. Chilly powder
6. Cumin seeds
7. Sesame seeds
8. 1 tbsp oil






Step 3:

Spread the sauce over the chicken with hands or plastic warp.
(Now, if you like a crispy taste, pat flour onto the chicken.)

Then bake in oven for around one hour.










After one hour, take the chicken out.

(Based on my own experience, half a chicken like the one in the picture could serve two people, and a whole chicken would be enough for three.)









So...call your friend.








2015年3月9日星期一

How to Make Bread With Baking Soda



Ingredients:

1.An egg
2.Milk(Or water)
3.Honey(Or sugar)
4.Oil
5.One slice of lemon
6.Wheat Flour(Or white, as your wish)
7.Baking soda







Step 1

Preheat the oven (Usually costs around 15 minutes).







Step 2

Butter the pan (or a loaf pan). If you don't have butter, oil may work as well.(I haven't tried before though.)





Step 3

Cut a slice of lemon, and squeeze the juice into a bowl. (I use lemon juice because the acidity in it could react with baking soda, generating salt and carbon dioxide, which helps the bread rise even more.)




Step 4

In the same bowl, break one egg. Add honey, sugar(2 tbsp), oil(1 tbsp), milk (pour only little bit now so that you can adjust later). Stir until smooth.





Step 5

In another bowl, add flour and 1/2 to 1 tbsp baking soda. Shake the bowl. (I do not add salt because it would be produced by the previously mentioned chemical reaction.)





Step 6

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones. Stir until you have a semi-liquid mixture as the picture shows.








Step 7

Once you get the texture right, pour the mixture into the pan immediately. (Once the baking soda meets moisture, the carbon dioxide generates right away.So, in order to make the bread rise nicely, it's good to move fast.)



Step 8

Quickly put the pan in the oven. Bake for around 30 minutes.






Step 9

Take out the pan. Let it cool down a bit.







Step 10

Cut the bread into pieces.







Step 11

Eat one and store the rest in the fridge.