Mango Yogurt Chiffon Cake

Ingredients (for 21cm Tube Pan):

For egg yolk mixture
4 egg yolks
33g caster sugar
47g vegetable oil
67g plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
57ml mango yogurt drink

For egg white mixture
4 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
47g caster sugar


Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, beat together egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns light & fluffy.
2. Add in oil and continue the beating until mixture turn pale.
3. Add in mango yogurt drink & mix to combine.
4. Add in plain flour, baking flour & salt and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape the bowl and mix one final time before setting it aside.
5. In another clean mixing bowl (very important to ensure that there is no drips of egg yolk or oil in this bowl), whisk egg whites until they turn foamy.
6. Add in cream of tartar & whisk until soft peaks form.
7. Gradually add in sugar & whisk until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat else the meringue will turn watery.
8. Transfer one-third of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture, beat it in. This will stabilize the mixture.
9. Gently fold in the remaining meringue in two batches.
10. Once no white streaks remains, pour the batter into an UNGREASED tube pan.
11. Lift the pan aabout 10cm off the table top, drop it vertically onto the table to remove any larger air bubbles.
12. Bake at 150 degree C for 40 minutes. The cake tends to crack if the temperature is too high.
13. Once the cake is done, invert it immediately & cool it on a wire rack. Do not unbold the cake until it has completely cool down.


****************************************************************************

Ingredients for alternate pan size:

23cm Tube Pan
For egg yolk mixture
5 egg yolks
42g caster sugar
58g vegetable oil
83g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
71ml mango yogurt drink

For egg white mixture
5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
58g caster sugar

Baking time: 50 min


25cm Tube Pan
For egg yolk mixture
6 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
70g vegetable oil
100g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
85ml mango yogurt drink

For egg white mixture
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
70g caster sugar

Baking time: 60 min

Mashed Potatoes with Homemade Gravy

Ingredients 
Mashed potatoes

8 potatoes, peeled        
½ cup of butter, melted
½ cup of milk, room temperature 
Salt and pepper to taste
 

For Gravy

4 tablespoon of butter  
4 tablespoon of flour 
4 cups chicken stock

Methods

Mashed potatoes 
1) Cut potatoes in small cube, cover with salted water, and boil just until tender (about 20  minutes or so). Drain well (important). Once drained, put the uncovered pan of potatoes on the burner over medium heat for just a couple of minutes; this will steam off any additional water so your potatoes will be fluffier – be careful not to scorch them. 
2) Once all water has evaporated, remove the potatoes from the heat and immediately add the butter and milk. Mash with potatoes masher, just enough to remove the lumps – do not stir them, as your potatoes will end up like glue. Salt and pepper to taste. 
Gravy 

1) In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until melted – but not burned.
2) Add the flour and whisk until it’s well incorporated – important to cook at least 1 minute so the flour taste is absorbed – whisking continually.
3) Add the chicken stock and whisk until thick. If you’d like it a little thicker, keep it on the burner a little longer so that it cooks down prior to serving it.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoon of unsalted butter

800g of sliced fresh mushrooms

1 pinch salt

1 yellow onion, diced

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

sprinkle of thyme

2 cloves garlic, peeled

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves for garnish, or to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat; stir in and cook mushrooms in butter with 1 pinch salt until the mushrooms give off their juices; reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring often, until juices evaporate and the mushrooms turn to golden brown, in approx. 15 minutes. Set aside a few attractive mushroom slices for garnish later, if desired. Add in diced onion into the pot and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 more minutes.
2. Stir flour into mushroom mixture and cook, stirring often for 2 minutes to remove raw flour taste. Add thyme into mushroom mixture; followed by garlic cloves. Pour chicken stock and water into mushroom mixture. Bring it to simmer and cook for 1 hour.
3. Transfer soup to a blender in small batches and puree on high speed until smooth and thick.
4. Return soup to pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and black pepper and serve in bowls, garnished with reserved mushroom slices.

Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing

Ingredients

Homemade Italian dressing:

3 tbsp of white vinegar

2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
8 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tsp of yellow mustard
Salt to taste

1 green pepper, cut into stripes

1 packet of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red onion, chopped fine

1 cup of fussili pasta

Instructions

1. To prepare dressing, whisk all the ingredients of Italian dressing in a large bowl. Taste and adjust to own liking.
2. Put a pot of water to boil, add 1 tbsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt. When the water is boiling, put in fussili pasta and cook just 1 minutes lesser than usual cooking timing so that the pasta is not overly soft. Transfer pasta into cold water to stop it from cooking, drain pasta.
3. Pour pasta, cut pepper, cherry tomatoes and chopped onion into the dressing bowl.
4. Mix well and chill for minimum 2 hours before serving, best when it is chilled overnight before serving.

Chicken Satay with home made dipping sauce

Ingredients:

6 drumsticks, deboned, skinned and cut into cubes

14 bamboo skewers, soaked overnight in water so that they don’t char when use in oven

4 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp onion, chopped

Marinate for Satay:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp garlic powder or minced fresh garlic

1 tsp ginger powder or minced fresh ginger

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass, take only tender inner stalk

1 tsp brown sugar

Satay sauce:

2 tbsp peanuts, shelled

2 tbsp finely chopped onion

2 tsp peanut oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp finely chopped lemongrass, take only tender inner stalk

½ cup coconut milk

3 tbsp unsalted peanut butter

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp lime juice, or to taste

1 tsp brown sugar, or to taste

Methods:

1. Combine all the marinate ingredients with the cubed chicken meats. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
2. Put the peanuts in a small bowl, add just enough water to cover and soak for 1 minute. Drain the nuts and chop them into small pieces. Heat the frying pan and add 1 tsp oil. When the oil gets hot, stir-fry the peanuts for 1 minute until crisp and golden. Remove and drain on kitchen towels.
3. Add 2 tbsp oil onto the remaining oil in the frying pan and let the oil get hot. Add garlic and onion and stir-fry for 1 minute till fragrant. Add the chicken pieces to the frying pan and stir-fry 3-4 minutes until crisp and golden on all sides. Remove from frying pan once the chicken pieces are just cooked. Thread onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers, 3 pieces per sticks. Keep warm in the oven with TOP GRILL at 120°C, for 10 – 15 minutes before serving to keep the tenderness of the chicken pieces.
4. To prepare Satay Sauce: Combine finely chopped onion and oil in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic, lemongrass, stir frequently to prevent overbrowning, for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce, ketchup, lime juice, brown sugar, stir until well blended and cooked. If necessary, thin with a little water to the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning with lime juice and brown sugar. The sauce may be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
5. Warm the dipping sauce if desired. Stir in the chopped peanuts into the dipping sauce, serve the Satays with the sauce.