Angel or Devil's Sponge Cake - heavenly, whatever name you call this cake

So soft it could melt in your mouth and bring you out of this world, a description my Aussie friends used to rave about this cake from the recipe I'm about to share. A bonus is that it's a healthy dessert.

Ingredients for Cake
Fine Castor Sugar 200 g (break up the lumps)
Low gluten flour 100 g (same as tempura or sponge cake flour without added raising agent - put through a fine sieve just and again before mixing)
Cream of tartar 1/2 tsp
Egg white from 6 large fresh free range eggs

* Note : Use a chef pro high speed food mixer for better and consistent results.

* Variation : Some American recipes recommend that you add a variety of diced premium quality dried preserved fruit to add colour and flavour to this already wonderful cake. But not too much as it may add weight and impede the cake from rising.

Ingredients for cream and fruit topping

Fresh cream for whipping 200 ml
Icing sugar 100 g
Kaffir lime zest 1 TBS
Lemon juice 1/2 TBS
Fresh strawberries
Mint leaves

Method

1. Whisk egg white. When it starts to lighten, add cream of tartar.
2. Continue to whisk. Add sugar gradually. Whisk till medium peak. Do not overbeat the eggs as the sponge might not yield the soft effect.
3. Fold in the flour gently in circular movement or with clean hand.
4. Pour mixture into a sponge ring cake pan with hollow centre. Line with non-stick paper but do not grease the pan.
5.Bake at 170 C for 30 mins.
6. Inverse the pan on a rack and let it cool completely.

Decorate the Cake

Whip cream and icing sugar at high speed. Add zest and juice.

Spread or pipe in the cream on top of the cooled cake.

Top with fresh fruits and mint leaves.

White Wine Vongole Pasta

This is

Soak 400 g vongole in salty water (chilled and washed vongole are more convenient and ready to use after a quick rinse of the shells)

300- 500 g
Butter (150 g)
Garlic finely chopped (2 cloves)
Onion (1)
Sea Salt and Black Pepper
White wine (1 cup)
Freshly diced tomatoes (2)
Freshly chopped pasley (1 sprig)
Light cooking cream (1 cup)


Bring water with salt & olive oil to the boil. Cook pasta till al dante for 5 mins or less. Let it rest in lukewarm water.

Fry garlic and onion in butter in a heavy large pan. Turn the heat up before the garlic and onion is soft and translucent but before turning golden brown.

Put in the vongole quickly and cover with a very tight lid. Toss and shake the vongle 4 times around to ensure even cooking. After 2 minutes, open the lid. If the shellfish is fresh, they should open nicely (more than 1/2 opened) but not tough.

Pour wine and cooking cream over and bring to a quick boil.
Put in the drained pasta and mix well.
Add salt, pepper, tomato and parsley before serving.

Homemade Chinese BBQ Pork - Char Siu (red hot grill or roast lean meat)

If you don't like the burnt taste or undercooked BBQ pork from speciality stores, market stalls or food hawkers, try this easy home recipe.

In Mandarin, it is called "cha shao". There's a slight difference between the Hong Kong "char siew" and Southeast Asian Chinese spelling of "char siew". In the urban areas of Thailand where Chinese influence on local cuisine is felt, the dish is known as "moo daeng" (red pork).

You'll need only one ingredient - pork neck for tender meat or pork shoulder if you like the meat to have little bite and chewy.

The rest of the ingredients are for marinades and sauces.

Bash and pulverise 2 garlic cloves.
Grate a small knob of ginger.
Mix rose wine (or rose water), shaoxing wine with oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and a little salt and sugar.
(Red food colouring is optional)

Combine well and marinate.

Put whole piece of meat into the marinate. Tip : it is best to take the meat (already thawed) out of the fridge for 20 minutes, wash and drain before marinating.

Heat oven to 220 C.
If the meat is very lean, brush lightly with some oil on both sides before putting into the oven to cook.
Cook for at least 30 minutes each side for 1.5 kg meat and longer for larger quantity.

Brush honey on one side when meat is almost cooked. Return to oven for 10 minutes. Then turn over and brush the other side. This is to prevent burning as pork needs to be well cooked.

Meanwhile, put the remaining marinade through the sieve. Use a little water if it is too thick.

Add remaining honey and stir well. Heat up the sauce till almost boiling and turn down the heat to a simmer. Reduce by half until it becomes a sauce.

Check that the centre of the meat is completely cooked yet juicy.
Rest in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and rest outside for another 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices.

Serve with sliced cucumber, reduced marinade sauce and chilli sauce (mix sweet chilli vinegar and garlic sauce).

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Shanxi Vinegar Stew Meat - healthy and aromatic

This dish is very similar to Philippine Adobo chicken which had Chinese origins. (Please refer to : http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com/2009/12/philippine-adobo-chicken-and-pork.html for ingredients and preparation.)

The main tip is adding a tablespoon of Shanxi dark and sweet matured vinegar during cooking (not as marinade). Shanxi vinegar is tart and pungent when taken straight from the bottle. However, added to a stew, it is heavenly, and healthy. Try it if you don't believe me.

This cooking style is suitable for different types of meat especially :

(1) chicken drumstick or fillet or

(2) pork knuckles or loin.

Firstly, marinate meat with soy sauce, pepper, shaoxing wine.

Saute garlic and onions in a heavy pan with a little oil for about 2 minutes under medium low heat.

Sizzle meat till outer layer changes colour and fragrant.

Add a vinegar by using a spoon to distribute evenly on all the meat.

Throw in vegetables as desired : carrot, potato, tomato, chilli peppers.

Cover the pan with an airtight lid. Lower the heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Easy, convenient, delicious and nutritious.

Luffa / Angled Squash / SilkGourd fried with prawn and scrambled eggs

Luffa / Angled Squash / Silk Gourd - 1 or 2
Eggs - 3 large or 4 medium
Prawn - devined and shell removed
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped lightly
Seasoning : soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, rice wine

Preparation

1. Cut all the sharp angled edges of luffa first. Then peel the skin. Ensure that the knife is sharp and steady. Remove the large seeds from the core. Leave the smaller seeds attached to the softer portions. Cut into 2 cm slices.

2. Beat the eggs and add seasoning sauces except rice wine.

3. Wash and drain prawn. Add a dash of cooking rice wine (Shaoxing)

Cooking Method

1. Fry garlic in a TBS of cooking oil till fragrant but before turning brown.

2. Stir fry prawn quickly till it just turns pink.

3. Add luffa slices and cook for a minute when it looks slightly soft.

4. Add beaten egg and keep stirring till well mixed. The water from the vegetables should help to form a saucy consistency.

5. The delicious dish is ready to be served as it is now.

6. If you like to make a soup, add chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Optional : steamed pumpkin wedges can be added to make the soup.