Friday, 3 March 2023

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Healthier & More Nutritious Danish Cinnamon Rolls (Kanelsnegle)

Makes 32 cinnamon rolls 

Ingredients:

Dough:

1. 350g flour
2. 150g graham flour
3. 10g yeast (or 3g dry yeast)
4. 50g dried date paste or 50g honey
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 50ml lukewarm milk
7. 2 eggs (approx. 100g)
8. 100g soft butter
9. 2 carrots grated
10. 1 tsp cinnamon powder
11. 1 tsp cardamon powder
12. 1 egg for glazing (optional)

Filling:

1. 100g butter
2. 50g dried date paste or sugar
3. 50g brown sugar
4. 2 TBS cinnamon powder

Directions:

1. In an electric mixer, add 10g yeast, 50ml lukewarm milk and mix well.

2 Add 100g butter and mix well.

3. Add egg and mix well.

4. Add 50g dried date paste and mix well.

5. Add grated carrots, vanilla powder, cardamon powder, cinnamon powder and salt and mix well.

6. Add graham flour and mix under low speed for sometime i.e. 5 minutes to get the gluten out.

7. Slowly add in the flour and run the mixer for 15 minutes or until you get a well kneaded dough that doesn't stick to your finger, is elastic and easy to work with, but is not dry. It should be completely smooth and separate easily from the mixing bowl. Make sure the dough is kneaded sufficiently. Best using a mixer as the dough needs to be kneaded for a long time.

6. Cover and let the dough rest for four hours at room temperature.

7. Divide the dough into two.

8. Sprinkle some flour on the table top and roll one dough into a square piece of about 5mm thick using a rolling pin.

9. Spread the filling on it.

10. Roll it up.

11. Cut it into 16 pieces of 2cm thick with a sharp knife.

14. Place them on a tray laid with a baking sheet.

15. Cover and let it rise for an hour (optional)

16. Brush with egg (optional)

17. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 175 degree Celsius for 15 minutes or until golden.

Additional Information:

C loves cinnamon rolls and always pesters me to get one for her when we are out. After trying out to make pizza rolls, I decided to try to make the cinnamon rolls as well today. Daddy FECS and C gave the thumbs-up. J was away at Teens Group at church, thus he didn't get to try it. I brought them along to the Chinese Bible Study group and they all liked it :-)

If you are in a hurry and can't wait for the dough to rise slowly for four hours in step 6, you can use 25g of yeast and reduce the dough resting time to one hour instead.

If you don't want to add carrot, you need to add 100ml more liquid (milk or yogurt). It is great for lunchboxes too. 

Storage:

You can freeze it down while they are still a little lukewarm. Take them out the night before or a few hours in advance and let them thaw in the fridge or for an hour on the kitchen counter. Spray them with a little water and warm them in a preheated oven at 175 degrees fan for 4-5 minutes or in a toaster.

References:


Thursday, 2 March 2023

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Healthier & More Nutritious Danish Sausage Rolls ( Pølsehorn)



Makes 24 sausage rolls 

Ingredients:

1. 350g flour
2. 150g graham flour
3. 10g yeast (or 3g dry yeast)
4. 1 TBS honey
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 100ml lukewarm fresh skimmed milk
7. 50ml natural yogurt 0.1% fat
8. 1 egg
9. 75ml olive oil
10. 2 carrots grated
11. 8 sausages cut into three each
12. 1 egg for glazing (optional)

Directions:

1. In a mixer, add 10g yeast, 100ml lukewarm milk, 1 tablespoon honey and mix well.
2 Add 50ml milk, 50ml yogurt, 75ml olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and one egg and mix well.
3. Add grated carrots and mix well.
4. Add graham flour and mix for some time to get the gluten out.
5. Slowly add in the flour and run the mixer for 15 minutes or until you get a well-kneaded dough that doesn't stick to your finger, is elastic and easy to work with, but is not dry. It should be completely smooth and separate easily from the mixing bowl. Make sure the dough is kneaded sufficiently. Best using a mixer as the dough needs to be kneaded for a long time.
6. Cover and let the dough rest for four hours at room temperature.
7. Divide the dough into two.
8. Roll one piece of dough into a round flat pizza, and cut it into 8 pieces.
9. Cut the sausage into three.
10. Place one piece of sausage on a piece of dough and roll it up like a croissant.
11. Place all the sausage rolls on a tray laid with a baking sheet.
12. Cover and let it rise for an hour.
13. Brush with egg.
14. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degree Celsius for 15 minutes or until golden.

Additional Information:

Like the Danish pizza roll, this is classic and a favorite among Danish kids. It is healthier than English sausage rolls. As C likes this a lot and it is cheaper to make it myself, I have decided to learn to bake this. This is the first time I baked this. J liked it and C liked it too. If you are in a hurry and can't wait for the dough to rise slowly for four hours in step 6, you can use 25g of yeast and reduce the dough resting time to one hour instead.

You can substitute milk with water. You can substitute olive oil with butter. If you don't want to add carrot, add 100ml more liquid (milk or yogurt). It is great for lunchboxes too. You can substitute the lukewarm water with lukewarm milk.

Storage:

You can freeze it down while they are still a little lukewarm. Take them out the night before or a few hours in advance and let them thaw in the fridge or for an hour on the kitchen counter. Spray them with a little water and warm them in a preheated oven at 175 degrees fan for 4-5 minutes or in a toaster.

References:





Wednesday, 1 March 2023

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Healthier & More Nutritious Danish Pizza Rolls (Pizza Snegle)


Makes 32 pizza rolls 

Ingredients:

1. 350g flour
2. 150g graham flour
3. 10g yeast (or 3g dry yeast)
4. 1 TBS honey or dried date paste
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 100ml lukewarm fresh skimmed milk
7. 50ml natural yogurt 0.1% fat
8. 1 egg
9. 75ml olive oil
10. 2 carrots grated
11. 140g tomato paste
12. 200g grated mozzarella cheese
13. 200g minced beef marinaded with salt and pepper
14. 1 TBS oregano
15. 1 egg for glazing (optional)

Directions:

1. In a mixer, add 10g yeast, 100ml lukewarm milk, 1 tablespoon honey and mix well.

2 Add 50ml milk, 50ml yogurt, 75ml olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and one egg and mix well.

3. Add grated carrots and mix well.

4. Add graham flour and mix for sometime to get the gluten out.

5. Slowly add in the flour and run the mixer for 15 minutes or until you get a well-kneaded dough that doesn't stick to your finger, is elastic and easy to work with, but is not dry. It should be completely smooth and separate easily from the mixing bowl. Make sure the dough is kneaded sufficiently. Best using a mixer as the dough needs to be kneaded for a long time.

6. Cover and let the dough rest for four hours at room temperature.

7. Divide the dough into two.

8. Sprinkle some flour and roll one piece of dough into a square piece about 5mm thick using a rolling pin.

9. Spread tomato paste on it.

10. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on it.

11. Sprinkle minced beef on it.

12. Roll it up.

13. Cut it into 16 pieces of 2cm thick with a sharp knife.

14. Place them on a tray laid with a baking sheet.

15. Cover and let it rise for an hour (optional)

16. Brush with egg.

17. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degree Celsius for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Additional Information:

This is another classic and favorite among Danish kids. It is healthier than English sausage rolls. As C likes this a lot and it is cheaper to make it myself, I have decided to learn to bake this. This is the first time I have baked this. J liked it and C liked it too. If you are in a hurry and can't wait for the dough to rise slowly for four hours in step 6, use 25g of yeast and reduce the dough resting time to one hour.

You can substitute milk with water. You can substitute olive oil with butter. If you don't want to add carrots, you must add 100ml more liquid (milk or yogurt). It is great for lunchboxes too. You can substitute the lukewarm water with lukewarm milk.

Storage:

You can freeze it down while they are still a little lukewarm. Take them out the night before or a few hours in advance and let them thaw in the fridge or for an hour on the kitchen counter. Spray them with a little water and warm them in a preheated oven at 175 degrees fan for 4-5 minutes or in a toaster.

References:














Saturday, 11 February 2023

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Healthier & More Nutritious Wholemeal Tangyuan Sweetened with Dates

 

Tang yuan served in warm water


- 1 small beetroot for the red colour
- A handful of baby spinach leaves blended

Tang yuan served in sweet ginger soup

Made of nutritious brown rice flour, sesame and natural colouring from spinach and beetroot :-) This gives you 20% wholemeal content.

Makes 22 tangyuan

Ingredients:

Dough:

1. 2/3 cup glutinous rice flour
2. 1/3 cup brown rice flour
3. 95ml cold water including liquid from coloring

Filling:

1. 1 cup black sesame seeds (100g)
2. 7 dates pitted
3. 5 tsp sugar (25g)

Directions:

Filling:

1. Roast the black sesame seeds on a pan under medium heat until fragrant and let it cool down.
2. Blend the black sesame seeds using a power blender: I use Magimix power blender.
3. Blend dates into smooth paste using a power blender.
4. Add back the sesame paste and date paste together and blend until smooth.
5. Add sugar and blend or mix by hand until combined.

Making the tangyuan:

1. In a mixing bowl, add glutinous rice flour and brown rice flour and mix well.

2. Add cold water and knead into a dough. You will find that the dough breaks easily, and that's alright, as you haven't added in the gluten yet.

3. Make your own gluten by taking a small amount of dough (approx. 10g) and roll it into a ball, then flatten it. Make another piece.

4. In a pot of boiling water, add the two flat dough pieces and boil until cooked. When they float on the water, it means they are cooked.

5. Drain the cooked dough and add them into the raw dough, knead and combine well. You will find that the dough doesn't break, much more elastic and easy to handle now (crediting my friend Da Jie who taught me this method of adding gluten into the dough and making it very elastic). If the dough sticks to your fingers, when you handle it, it means your dough is too wet. Adjust by adding a bit more glutinous rice flour or brown rice flour little-by-little and knead to combine well. When the dough no longer sticks to your fingers, it is good now.

6. Wrap the dough in food plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes (optional, the dough will be easier to work with after resting)

7. To make a tangyuan, weigh 8g of dough and roll it into a ball, then dig a hole with your little finger for the filling.

8. Fill it with the black sesame filling, fold and close it up into a ball and set aside. Repeat step 7-8 until all the dough or filling are used up.

Cooking the tangyuan:

Sweet ginger soup:

1. In a pot of water, add ginger and Pandan leaves (optional) and bring to boil *

2. Add the brown or coconut sugar and simmer it under low heat (no. 3 on my stove).

1. Bring to rapid boil a separate pot of water and add the sweet balls into the pot.

2. Let it come to a second boil. The sweet balls are done once they float to the top.

3. Dish it out into a bowl and add the sweet ginger soup into it.

4. Serve immediately and enjoy :-)

* You can also also just cook the tangyuan simply in water without the brown sugar and ginger. This means that it will be tangyuan in plain soup - which is the traditional way in China, and is healthier than the Singaporean Chineses' sweet ginger soup :-)

Additional Information:

Our kids LOVE tangyuan. Chinese new year is over a month ago and I am still making them! I just have to record down the recipe so that I don't forget and it will be handy for me during Chinese new year next year.

Tangyuan is eaten on the last day (or 15th day) of Chinese New Year (CNY) known as Yuanxiao. It is the first full moon after the start of the CNY. This day is commemorated with tangyuan symbolizing that the year would be sweet, round and complete, just like the full moon. Tangyuan is also eaten during the Lantern Festival.

However, traditionally-made tangyuan is not the healthiest choice as it is made up basically of white glutinous rice, lots of sugar and artificial colouring! Tangyuan can be made without the filling, just plain glutinous flour balls. I remembered that tanggyuan is not my favourite CNY food, as even as a young child, I found it a rather empty food, when my granny or my mum made it during the Lantern Festival.

Now as a mother, I face the dilemma of whether or not to pass down this tradition to our children. If I am to pass this tradition down, tangyuan has to be more nutritious and not just an empty calorie food. I have decided to make a modern more healthier and more nutritious version of tangyuan.

By adding two cooked dough pieces into the dough, it adds gluten into the dough and makes it a lot easier to work. The dough doesn't break easily. I learned this from a very sweet and kind Chinese lady.
Using 1 cup glutinous rice flour and 1/4 cup brown rice flour, we couldn't taste the brown rice flour at all and it tasted equally good. But we wanted to make it even healthier, and thus we use 3/4 cup of glutinous rice flour and 1/4 cup of brown rice flour. Anymore brown rice beyond this ration will make the dough heavy and not so tasty.

It's a time consuming task. It took me 2.5 hours to make 50 tang yuans, including making the filling, excluding roasting the sesame seeds.

Often I use 3/4 cup of glutinous rice flour with 1/4 brown rice flour. This increase the wholemeal content of the tangyuan to 25% instead of 20% and it still tastes very good. With this portion, you should add 1/4 cup water plus 3 tablespoon water to make it into a dough.

If you want to make it even healthier, I use 2/3 cup of of glutinous rice flour with 1/3 brown rice flour. This increase the wholemeal content of the tangyuan to 33% instead of 20% and it still tastes very good. In this case, I use 75ml water.



Measure 1 cup sesame seeds

Roast the sesame seeds on a pan on low-medium heat (no. 5.5 to 6 on my stove until it is fragrant)

Blend the roasted sesame seeds together with the sugar

Black sesame filling done :-)





White glutinous rice flour

 Organic whole grain brown rice flour

Measure 1 cup glutinous rice flour

2/3 cup white glutinous rice flour

1/3 brown rice flour


Mix well

Add 75ml of water

Form into a dough

To increase the gluten of the dough, measure 10g, or simply make an estimated lump.

Fatten it. make another one.

When the water boils, add in the flat pieces and cook until they float on the surface of the water.

Add the two pieces of cooked dough into the raw dough

Mix well

Dough is done :-) Now it feels a lot more elastic and doesn't break easily.

Make it into a ball, flatten it and place the filling in the middle, then roll it into a ball again.

All done 25 of them :-)

Boil for 2 minutes or until they all float to the surface.

Now it's done :-) Scoop into a boil along with the water

Enjoy :-)

To make green tang yuan, blend a handful of spinach with 1/2 cup of water


Sift to get the green liquid.

Add spinach liquid into the flour

Knead and mix well.

To make gluten for the dough, make 2 lumps of 10g each.

Flatten them.

Boil a pot of water and cook them.

They are done when the float to the surface.

Add it to the dough.

Knead and mix well.


Now it is done, you will notice that the dough is now much more elastic, just like wheat dough. The dough should not stick to your hand.

To make pink tang yuan, blend 4 pieces of beet root with 1/2 cup of water and add them to the flour.

To make gluten for the dough, make 2 lumps of 10g each.

Flatten them.

Boil them until they float to the surface.

Add them to the dough.

Mix well and now it's done. They are as elastic as any wheat dough.

Wrap the dough in food plastic and let them rest for 30 minutes. It will be easier to work with after resting.

Now to make tang yuan, take a lump of dough approx. 10 g and roll it into a ball.

Flatten it.

Add the filling.

Fold the dough around the filling into a ball.

Now the rice balls are done and ready to be cooked :-)

You can freeze the rice balls in the freezer for later use too.


When the water boils, add in the tang yuans



Scoop into serving boils along with some of the liquid



Leftover dough can be kept fresh in the fridge for 3 days.

If you wish to eat tang yuan in sweet soup, to make sweet ginger soup, add 2-3 slices of ginger and brown sugar in a pot.

Bring to boil until the brown sugar is dissolved.

Add the tang yuans and boil for 2 minutes until they float. Then turn off the fire.

Scoop into a serving bowl along with the soup. Enjoy :-)





13 March 2021


Memories from 14 January 2023 (13Y)







Memories from 15 January 2023 (6Y)

















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