Posted on by Bembum Kitchen · 6 Comments

Traditional Mooncake (Inspired by Sin Hap Hoat Brand)

Hi Guys, today we are making my favorite childhood Traditional Mooncake inspired by the famous brand “Sin Hap Hoat”.
And until now, I still fall in love with this moon cake.
Mid-Autumn Festival takes place when the full moon is said to be the largest and brightest of the whole year. It was traditionally a time to give thanks to the Gods.

This is the type of moon cake that capture my heart, it brings fond memories for me and my family.
The round moon cakes are symbols of the great family reunion just like the round, as usual we sit together under the bright light of the moon, sip tea, nibble on mooncakes.

It’s completely different with alkaline water or snow skin kind moon cake, no need any fancy ingredients such as golden syrup or alkaline water.
They original Brand “Sin Hap Hoat” have flavour varieties such as Chocolate, Milk, Durian, Jackfruit, cheese and many more. My favorite flavour will always be these lovely chocolate.

Yummy Thick Chocolate Paste

The chocolate paste mixed nut filling is not too sweet, it’s pretty thick and so flavourful.

“Tjoklat” Old Stamp Spelling

And originally it still use the old stamp spelling of the flavour on the top of the Mooncake, like Tjoklat means Chocolate.

DIY Stencil

As I don’t have customized stamp for the cake design so I decided to make my own DIY cake stencil.

These mooncake has an equal proportions of skin and filling. That helps the mooncake to balance out the sweetness and make it taste so good.
They are best enjoyed with a strong, palate-cleansing cup of Chinese tea.

The cake skin will be sturdy and a bit crunchy after baking, but as you store them, it will absorb the oil from the filling and become softer, which is a good thing! Make them even tastier.

I hope that you will enjoy these recipe, maybe turned them into gifts for friends or relatives and have a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
Love you Guys!


TRADITIONAL MOONCAKE (INSPIRED BY SIN HAP HOAT BRAND)
Yield: 4 pieces
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 1/2 hour

INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Nut Filling:

  • 15 grams Unsalted Butter
  • 45 grams Dark Baking Chocolate (Compound or Couverture)
  • 65 grams Granulated/ Raw Sugar
  • 40 grams Water
  • 1/2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 80 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • 20 grams Cocoa Powder
  • 60 grams Baked Cashew Nut

*For those of you who prefer savoury flavour, you can substitute the chocolate filling with this delicious Cheese Filling:

  • 120 grams Grated Cheddar Cheese
  • 95 grams Icing Sugar
  • 80 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • 40 grams Salted Butter

Skin Dough:

  • 125 grams Condensed Milk
  • 44 grams Eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 165 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Milk Powder
  • 1/3 teaspoon Baking Powder

Cake Stencil:

  • Printed design on A4 paper
  • Greaseproof Paper
  • Double Tape
  • Red Food Colouring Powder
  • White Vinegar
  • Small Brush


INSTRUCTIONS
Cake Stencil
Print the design on a piece of standar A4 paper. Laminate back side of the A4 printed design with a greaseproof paper using double tape. Then using sharp Xacto knife carefully cut out the design out.


Chocolate Nut Filling

  1. In a medium pan, combine the unsalted butter, dark sweet chocolate, granulated or raw sugar, water and Vanilla Extract. Cook over medium low heat until start to boil and the chocolate melted. Take it off from the heat.
  2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder immediately into the pan, mix until well combined until it create a smooth shiny chocolate dough.
  3. Add the crushed cashew nuts into the chocolate filling, mix well.
  4. Divide the fillings into 4 equal pieces (about 80 grams each), shape the chocolate filling into a disk about 1-inch thick, set aside.

Cheese Filling
Simply combine all the ingredients. The mixture will be gritty at first, keep kneading until it creates a dough ball.
Divide into 4 equal pieces (about 80 grams each) shape into a disk.

Skin Dough
In a large bowl combine the condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla extract, mix well. Then pour in the all-purpose flour, milk powder and baking powder Mix until well combined.
The dough should be sticky at first, cover and let it rest for about 5 minutes to let the flour absorbed the water so it’s will be less sticky.
Divide the skin dough into 4 equal pieces (about 80 grams each).


Wrapping, Decorating and Baking

  1. Wrapping;
    Using rolling pin, gently flatten and roll the skin dough into 7 cm in diameter disk, put some flour on your palm, then pick up the skin and put it on your palm.
    Place one portion of the chocolate nuts filling ball at the center of the skin, gently wrap the dough upwards and around the filling, tighten your palm, pinching edges at the top to seal.
    Make sure the skin and the filling stick together evenly.
  2. Place a piece of greaseproof paper on top of the mooncake. Using flat surface, press the mooncake gently into a thick flat disk (make sure the top is flat and it should be about the same diameter size as the template).
    *If you see a shadow of the chocolate filling on the skin surface, don’t worry it won’t be visible after the skin dough risen in the oven.
  3. Decorating;
    Dilute about 1/2 teaspoon red food colouring powder with a bit of white vinegar. Place your stencil on top of the mooncake, using round brush tap the coloured gently over holes in the stencil (make sure it doesn’t move around while you stenciling).
    Gently peel away the stencil, using tiny brush paint the rest of the missing details.
  4. Baking;
    Bake the mooncake in the preheated 160°C oven for about 25 minutes.
    After baking, remove it from the heat and let it cool completely on the cooling rack.
  5. Store them in an air-tight container.

NOTES

  1. The cake skin will be sturdy and a bit crunchy after baking, but as you store them, It will absorb the oil from the filling and become softer, which is a good thing, Make them even tastier.
  2. The mooncake has an equal proportions of skin and filling. That helps the mooncake to balance out the sweetness and make it taste so good
  3. You can substitute cashew nut with any other baked nut you like (macademia, almond, walnut or peanut).
  4. Best serve after you keep them 1-2 days at room temperature (in an airtight container), when the skin soften a bit.
  5. You can store them 4 days at room temperature or 3 months in the fridge.

Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Rabokki 라볶이 (Ramen+Tteokbokki 떡볶이) | Homemade Rice Cakes & Gochujang Sauce

Hi Guys, today I’m going to show you how to make Rabokki. It’s actually the same thing as Tteokbokki. But besides using rice cake which is called Tteok, we will add some Ramen noodles for Rabokki. So there’s where the “Ra” words in Rabokki coming from.

Rabokki (라볶이) is consists of Tteok, a cylinder-shaped white rice cake and Ramyeon (Ramen) as the main ingredients; with other ingredients such as vegetables, fish cake, boiled egg, seafood, and even melted cheese.

I will use my homemade rice cakes and also my homemade Gochujang Sauce in this recipe.
I really recommend to use the freshly made rice cakes because the frozen one tends to be dry, easy to crack, and not chewy.

Look how chewy and flexible this homemade Rice Cakes are, they even don’t gets hard when they are cold.

The ingredients are coated with sweet and spicy homemade Gochujang Sauce and the chewy rice cakes and soft noodles soak up a lot of the flavor. 
You can simply use water to make Rabokki or you can use broth if you want to make it tastier.

Add ramen noodle at the last minute of cooking Rabokki, when you add them at the beginning, the noodles will soak too much water and become to soft and soggy.
Some people also add the instant Ramen seasoning to make the flavor more savoury.

You can use ready made Gochujang Sauce, I’m prefer homemade version coz it’s healthier. The rice cakes and ramen noodle will thicken the Gochujang Sauce. 
If you do not like the sauce to be too spicy, omit the cayenne pepper or chili powder. If you like it super spicy, adding Cayenne Powder or chilli powder is the way to increase the heat level without altering the flavor.

Best serve the same day you cook it as Rabokki leftover does not reheat well. If you want to store them in the fridge, make sure there is no Ramen left before you put your Rabokki, considering leaving Ramen in liquid will make it soggy and disintegrate into porridge texture.
Enjoy the recipe!

RABOKKI (RAMEN+TTEOKBOKKI)
Yield: 4 Servings
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 1/2 hour

INGREDIENTS
Tteok (Korean Rice Cakes):

  • 120 grams Glutinous Rice Flour
  • 75 grams Tapioca Starch
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 150 grams Boiling Water
  • Sesame Oil (for grease)

Side Dishes:

  • 1 large Onion
  • 1 large Carrot Cabbage (optional)
  • Fish Cake
  • Ramen Noodle


Gochujang Sauce:

  • 800 Boiling Water
  • 6 tablespoons Miso Paste
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons Chili Sauce (preferable with garlic)
  • 1 teaspoon Ceyenne Pepper or Chilli Powder (optional)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
  • 1 teapoon Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
  • 1 tablespoon White Vinegar


Garnish: Spring Onion, Roasted Sesame


INSTRUCTIONS
Tteok (Korean Rice Cakes)

  1. In a large bowl combine glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch and salt. Pour in the hot boiling water and mix until just combine.
    Then using my hand I will continue to knead them (it will look a bit dry and floury at first, continue kneading it until it create a smooth ball).
  2. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each dough into 1 cm thick, and then bend and cut them into 2 equal pieces. Set aside to the tray, continue with the rest dough.
  3. To cook the rice cakes
    Bring a medium pan of water to a boil and carefully place the rice cakes into the simmering water.
    In the meanwhile, grease a tray with a bit of sesame oil to prevent stickiness.
    When the rice cakes start to float that means they are ready to be picked up, scoop them out and place them into the tray.
  4. The rice cakes is ready to use, if you want to keep your rice cakes for a long time, make sure they are grease well with sesame oil, place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge or freezer.

To Cook Rabokki

  1. Slice onions, carrots, spring onions, fish cake and rice cakes into small pieces.
  2. Pour some hot water into a wok, add all the Gochujang ingredients (Miso paste, sugar, chilli sauce, cayenne pepper or chilli powder, garlic powder, salt, sesame oil and vinegar).
    Stir until well combined and bring it to a boil.
  3. After boiling, pour the red onions and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes so they’re soften a bit. Add in fish cakes and rice cakes, stir well.
    Add your favorite ramen noodle and cook until they soft enough.
    *Be careful not to cook the noodles too long, as they become mushy very quickly.
  4. Sprinkle with spring onions and roasted sesame as a garnish.

NOTES

  1. To store the Rice cakes; place them in an airtight container and store them in fridge (1-2 days) or freezer (3 months).
  2. Please note; add ramen noodle at the last minute of cooking Rabokki, when you add them at the beginning, the noodles will soak too much water and become to soft and soggy.
    Some people also add the instant Ramen seasoning to make the flavor more savoury.
  3. The rice cakes and ramen noodle will thicken the Gochujang Sauce.
  4. You can find Tteok (Korean Rice Cakes) sold freshly made, refrigerated, or frozen at Korean grocery stores.
    I really recommend to use the freshly made rice cakes because the frozen one tends to be dry, easy to crack, and not chewy.
  5. You can use ready made Gochujang Sauce, I’m prefer homemade version coz it’s healthier.
  6. If you do not like the sauce to be too spicy, omit the cayenne pepper or chili powder. 
    If you like it super spicy, adding cayenne powder or chilli powder is the way to increase the heat level without altering the flavor.
  7. You can simply use water to make Rabokki or you can use broth if you want to make it tastier.
  8. Best serve the same day you cook it as Rabokki leftover does not reheat well.
    If you want to store them in the fridge, make sure there is no Ramen left before you put your Rabokki, considering leaving Ramen in liquid will make it soggy and disintegrate into porridge texture.
    You can reheat any leftover along with a little bit of water in a small pan over low heat.

Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Banana Hand Pies

Hey Guys, today we are making these adorable “Banana Hand Pies”. These hand pies is decadent  and really easy to make.

Slices of fresh bananas, brown sugar and cinnamon, baked to perfection inside of an individual pie crust. The most perfect, amazing pie crust I’ve ever made.

The key to a really good pie crust is to have super cold butter, so, make sure you freeze them well in advance.
Instead of that classic ice water, we are gonna use sour cream to make the pie crust. Not only the dough extremely easy to work with, but the crust also buttery, light and flaky.

The pie crust dough can be prepared in advance and have it ready for whenever you are craving for some delicious snack.
You also can choose each time a different filling, there are so many options apple, pineapple, chocolate and various savory fillings.

The great thing about this dough is we don’t need store them in the fridge for a few hours before rolling. But even you can roll the dough immediately, I suggest to finish with all the pie details first to avoid the filling sit to long and becomes watery.

The uncooked pies

It’s really hard not to fall in love with them…

I like these best when they are still warm from the oven, when the filling is hot and the brown sugar is melted.

They will still be delicious the day after they were baked. You just need to reheating them a few minutes in the oven to crisp up the pastry.

And a scoop Vanilla ice cream served alongside makes a perfect combination with these adorable pie.

Hm..mm it’s really smells good. I hope that you will love these recipe and give them a try, enjoy the recipe!

BANANA HAND PIES
Yield: 5 Pieces
Active time: 1/2 hour
Total time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
Pie Dough:

  • 150 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Granulated Sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Tumeric Powder
  • 105 grams Unsalted Butter (Frozen)
  • 90 grams Sour Cream (Not Lowfat or Light)


Filling:

  • 2 Bananas (Overripe)
  • 30 grams Brown Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder

    Cocoa and Red Food Colouring
    Egg Whites (For Glue)


INSTRUCTIONS
Design Template
Tracing the outline template to some greaseproof paper and gently cut the outline.

Pie Filling
Cut the bananas into small pieces, mix it with the brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside.


Pie Dough

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
  2. In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together all the dry ingredients the flour, salt, granulated sugar and turmeric powder.
  3. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients.Using a fork, toss the butter and flour mixture.
    Do not break down the butter pieces in this step, just lightly toss until they are coated with flour or until you see a crumbly consistency.
  4. Add in the sour cream
    Using the same fork, mix the sour cream into the butter flour mixture. Pressing the fork down into the sour cream, in order to mash the large clumps of sour cream into the flour and butter.
    Try not to overwork the dough, if the butter pieces get too small and overprocessed, the crust will be tough.
    Then use hands to pull out the dough together (it will look a bit shaggy at first, but as you press it quickly and firmly together, it should start to form a cohesive ball).
    *If the dough seems overly wet, you can add a tablespoon of flour and if it’s too dry, add a teaspoon of sour cream at a time.
  5. Spare some pie dough for the details
    About 10 grams for the dark chocolate and 2 grams for the red.
    I am using cocoa powder and red food colouring powder for colouring, you can also use liquid food colouring if you want.
  6. Making pie details
    – Combine the oval shape of dark brown and red dough to create his mouth and tongue.
    – Using a dark brown dough to create his eyes, eyebrows and hands.
    – A bit of red dough for his cheeks.
  7. Roll the pie dough
    Divide the dough into 2 batches, for the bottom and top, so it’s easier to handle.
    Using a rolling pin, roll this out into about a half centimetre thick, then cut 5 pieces out of the each batch according to the design template (total 10 pieces of the cut dough).
  8. Fill the doughLay the bottom side of the cut dough on the tray with a parchment paper, place banana filling in the middle of the dough.
    Brush the egg whites as a glue on the underside rim and then place the top cut dough on top of the filling.
    Gently pasting the edges dough with fingers, and then using the prongs of a fork press the edges to seal the pies.
  9. Pie details
    Using egg whites as a glue to stick all the details to each position.
  10. Bake for about 20 minutes. Take off from the heat, let it cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling. 


NOTES

  1. The key to a really good pie crust is to have super cold butter. So, make sure you freeze them well in advance.
  2. Best serve when they are still warm from the oven, when the filling is hot and the brown sugar is melted.
  3. A scoop Vanilla ice cream served alongside makes a perfect combination with these adorable pie.
  4. They will still be delicious the day after they were baked, just store them in the fridge and reheat them a few minutes in the oven to crisp up the pastry.
  5. The pie dough can also be pressed into a flat disc and wrapped in plastic to be refrigerated for 1-2 days or frozen for up to a month.
  6. The uncooked pie can be assembled a day ahead of time and stored in the fridge on the baking sheet until ready to bake.
  7. To freeze uncooked the pies, assemble the uncooked pies on a baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer for one hour in order to harden and then transfer the frozen pies to a freezer bag.
    To prevent the pies from sticking to each other, place a sheet of parchment paper between them. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
    And when you are ready to bake them, place desired amount of pies 2-3 inches apart on a rimmed parchment lined pan and bake them in preheated 200°C oven for about 20-25 minutes.