Indian Eggplant - Bhurtha

I made this recipe today. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/80686/indian-eggplant-bhurtha/
What I did differently was:
tomatoes : 1 big can
eggplants: 1 big pack
salt: none (as I have salt from the can of tomatoes)

I also did this:
Cut it into 1 inch rings, sprinkled it with some salt and let it sit for at least 30 min (to remove the excess water). Then I placed it in the oven and let it bake for approximately 30 mins.

Due to that, the taste is mild. I should have added some garam masala for the punch.

Vegan Baking Holy Grail

I come from a family of very detailed, almost scientific baking & cooking know-how in the family so to go vegan, I have to understand first

http://www.veganbaking.net

Sweet Potato Bread Recipe

I bought way too many big sweet potatoes so I decided to find something to make it with!

So I followed the recipe from here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6666/sweet-potato-bread-i/

With these exact ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs (I use egg replacement 1 Tablespoon = 2 eggs)
` 3/4 sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked & mashed potatoes


After:
I think the sugar is making it way too sweet like a cake. So maybe do it once more with half or even quarter amount of sugar.

Singapore / Malaysia Lor Mai Gai

At first I was following the recipe from rotinrice but I just cannot appreciate this taste. In the end, I tried making with lor mai gai with recipe from nyonyacooking.com and this is much much better.

From the layout and the way the information is given; I feel nyonyacooking is a better recipe and website. Sorry Auntie RotinRice.... No disrespect but the five spice and amount of oil in the rice is quite disgusting.

Hmm... after a day, I realised I do like the taste from Auntie RotinRice for the glutinous rice, maybe take away five spice and vegetable oil. Keep the rest.
The chicken is sort of tasteless so I will marinate the chicken overnight.


I will MERGE the two modified recipes below to create a better taste and efficient workflow (both for chicken & for the rice).

Modified Auntie RotinRice for preparing the rice:-

For the glutinous rice

• 2½ cups glutinous rice (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight) (500g)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• ½ cup water (120ml)
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic (minced

Prepare Glutinous Rice

1. Prepare a steamer and allow water to come to a boil.
2. Drain glutinous rice. Place in a deep bowl. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, pepper, and ½ cup (120ml) water. Mix well.
3. Combine vegetable oil, sesame oil, and minced garlic in a small microwave proof dish and microwave for 1½ minutes on high. Remove and pour over the rice.
4. Place rice in steamer, cover with lid, and steam for 45 minutes.

Preparing chicken

• 4 oz skinless boneless chicken thighs (thinly sliced) (114g)
• 1/2 tbsp Shao Hsing cooking wine
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 inch ginger (peeled) (30g)
• 2 lap cheong / Chinese sausage
• 3 Chinese mushrooms / shiitake, soaked and cut into thin strips
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup (60ml) water

1. Combine chicken, Shao Hsing wine, and soy sauce in a bowl. Grate ginger over chicken. Mix well and allow it to marinade for 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, fry prepared lap cheong until lightly brown in a medium size pot, about 2 minutes. There is no need to use any oil. Remove fried lap cheong, leaving the oil in the pot. Set aside.
3. In the same pot, sauté minced garlic until fragrant. Add marinated chicken and mushrooms. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in dark soy sauce. Pour in corn starch mixture and allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Sauce should come to a boil and thicken. Turn off the stove.

Modified Nyonya Cooking for preparing the rice:-

Preparing glutinous rice:

• 1 shallot(s)    
• 1 garlic clove(s) 
• 0.5 tbsp oyster sauce   
• 0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce 
• 2 tsp soy sauce 
• 1 tsp sesame oil

1. In a pan, heat oil over medium heat to sauté sliced shallots and minced garlic until fragrant. Reduce the heat to the minimum. 
2. Microwave: oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. 
3. Transfer glutinous rice to a plate. Add the sauces in and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of mushroom water. Steam for 45 minutes.

Preparing chicken:

0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce 

1 tsp shaoxing wine   

1 tsp sesame oil 

1 tsp sugar 

0.5 tsp ginger

0.5 tbsp oyster sauce    

100 g chicken meat

Chop chicken into bite sizes. Marinate chicken and hydrated dried mushrooms with the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce and minced ginger together with four tablespoons of mushroom water.

Vegan Butter

So recently I had a hard time trying to get vegan butter sticks for baking.

Here are some recipes for vegan butter that I would love to make and then create my own butter in case I don't have any.

https://lovingitvegan.com/homemade-vegan-butter/

https://www.vegan.com/recipes/bryanna-clark-grogan/bryannas-vegan-butter/

https://nutritionrefined.com/vegan-butter/

And the absolute holy grail of vegan baking @ http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/vegan-butter