steamed egg

tips:

• mix hot water to eggs before popping into steamer
• use some oil to get better texture
• should not need to cook too long
• cook similar to creme brulee but with steam...same as dun dan
• about 1 cup water to 1 egg...seemed little runny so maybe 2/3 cup water to 1 egg?
  

roasted yams

problem:

• too wet
• doesn't have the same texture as mom's

solution from mom:

• blanching golf ball size yams in cold water til it boils and is slightly soft...
• drain and place onto a baking sheet sprayed with butter spray
  
• put knobs of butter with brown sugar all over the yams and cover with foil.
  
• then roast in 400 degree oven til it dries out a big and gets soft.
  
• when its soft enough to be poked with a chopstick, take off the foil and cook til no liquid on the botton and edges darken and firm up

tips:

• yams never dry out so don't worry to roast longer
• roasting takes about an hour so allow time for it
• can cook at any temperture if u need to share space with other items in oven
• if blanch longer, don't need to cover and just roast til firms up and dries
• mom suggests butter and brown sugar early
• i think better to boil til soft, then brush on butter, then add brown sugar and roast for 30min til dry (350-400 degree oven)
  

11/28 - gelantinous rice balls (sweet)

ingredients:

• sugar
• peanut butter
• brown sugar
• gelatinous rice flour
  

steps:

• boil small pot of water with brown sugar (atleast 3 inches of water) til lightly sweet
  
• mix peanut butter with sugar til sweet (optional, add some coconut milk)
• mix rice flour together with cold water (1/2 lb of flour to 1 cup of water)
• form a 30g ball with the flour mixture and make an indentation with thumb to start to make a small pot of the dough
• place 1 tsp peanut butter mixture into the dough and close up the top
• roll on hands to form a smooth ball
• toss balls into sugar water mixture
• when it floats, serve hot

tips:

• balls taste better with less peanut butter
• sugar water should not be very sweet
• dough is perfect when it can be kneaded but breaks apart when you rip out a piece
  

11/28 - gelantinous rice balls (salty)

ingredients:

• napa cabbage (1 inch wide pieces)
  
• rice cake (sliced width-wise, then in half length-wise)
  
• chinese sausage (sliced)
  
• dried shrimp (handful soaked in hot water)
  
• gelatinous rice flour (sold in 1 lb bags)
• broth (today used turkey broth)
  

steps:

• heat up broth mixture
• boil a pot of water for the balls
  
• saute garlic (forgot to use this time), chinese sausage, and dried shrimp together in a pan with some oil
• pour meat mixture, fish cake, and napa cabbage into boiling broth and cook til cabbage is cooked
• mix water with gelatinous rice flour and form into 12g balls (10g if want them smaller like mom's)
• toss rice balls into pot of boiling water
• when cooked, balls will float to surface
• toss cooked balls into flavorful broth and serve
  

proportions:

• 1 cup water to 1/2 lb of flour
• dinner serving size of 2 people is about 3/4 lb of flour

tips:

• dough is perfect when it can be kneaded but breaks apart when you rip out a piece
• 12g balls is slightly bigger than mom's so 10g might be more like mom's
• adding garlic to saute with chinese sausage might give broth more flavor
• cutting fish cakes length-wise, then in half length-wise might be better size than only length-wise...seemed slightly big