Thermomix Creme Patissiere aka Pastry Cream

I've read raves about how easy it is to make custards and pastry cream with the Thermomix so I just had to try it out. I've made pastry cream the old fashioned method, and it really isn't all that difficult. However, the Thermomix makes this quite idiot proof. The great thing is I don't have to stir and can do something else while the Thermomix does all the cooking for me so it is a great time saver.

I thought the cream looked more watery than when I did this on the stove, but when I poured it out it was actually nicely thickened and very smooth. I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla essence so you can see tiny black specks in the cream.

Thermomix Creme Patissiere

INGREDIENTS

(A)
480g full-cream milk
50g white sugar

(B)
2 eggs
30g cornstarch
65g white sugar

(C)
30g butter
5ml vanilla essence

 

METHOD

1. Measure (A) into TM bowl. Heat for 3 mins/90°C/speed 3.
2. Meanwhile, whisk (B) in a seperate bowl until it is evenly mixed.
3. Once (A) is ready, set it for another 5 mins/90°C/speed 4 and slowly pour in (B).
4. Finally, add in (C) and stir in at speed 2 until incorporated.
5. Pour out into a container or mixing bowl, cover the top with cling wrap (place the cling wrap directly on the top of the cream) to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for a few hours or overnight.
6. Before using, stir a few times with a whisk to smooth it out. For a lighter texture, fold in an equal part of whipped cream.

Playdough

Playdough

My girls love to play with playdough. However, the commercial ones are expensive, stick everywhere and have a funny smell. Worst of all, they don't last long since the kids mix everything up and sometimes leave them out too long, causing them to dry up.

Since the ingredients for playdough are all things I have at home, I decided to make my own playdough instead. Not only is it cheaper, I can make all kinds of different colours and even add fragrance using essential oils. For relaxing play before bedtime, try lavender and chamomile essential oils. For energising play, try peppermint oil. You can leave the dough unfragranced, but there may be a mild vegetable oil smell, depending on what oil you use.

Today instead of food colouring, I use fine glitter and micas to colour the dough. The colourings I use are makeup grade, and safe for eyes, lips, nails, etc. You can't see it from the picture, but the dough is slightly metallic and glittery.

The following recipe has been adapted for the themomix, but you can do it by hand just as easily. Just mix the dry ingredients in a bowl then bour in the boiling water, stir to form a loose dough, then knead by hand till smooth. The dough will keep well for several days and remain soft if you keep it in an airtight container. The cream of tartar and salt may seem like alot, but don't reduce the amount as these will help prevent mould from growing.

Playdough

INGREDIENTS

220g plain flour
50g cream of tartar
20g cooking oil
220g salt
500ml water
food colouring
few drop of essential oil (optional)

METHOD

1. Pour salt and water into the TM bowl, heat 5 mins at 100°C, speed stir.
2. Once the water boils, add the rest of the ingredients (except the colouring and essential oil) into the water and mix 1-2 mins on speed 4-5 until a dough forms.
3. Seperate into smaller portions and knead in colouring and essential oil until you get your desired colour and level of fragrance.

 

Homemade Chicken Stock Powder

I first read about making chicken stock powder from the Thermomix forum. There were many raves about Tenina's Chicken stock powder recipe in the For Food's Sake recipe book. Unfortunately it is very difficult to get hold of Thermomix recipe books in Singapore and I couldn't find the recipe for the stock powder anywhere. Hence, I decided to just experiment on my own with whatever information I could gather online, and came up with my own version of a stock powder.

I actually used the chicken carcass and jin hua ham left over from a liquid chicken stock together with some left over raw chicken pieces in the freezer. I often have meat left over from soups that nobody wants to eat as the meat has given all it's flavour to the soup and tends to be somewhat tough and flavourless. I think this would be a great way to make use of the leftover meat and minimise wastage.

The resulting powder seems like a good replacement for the usual stock cube and is completely made from natural ingredients, so I can use it in my cooking without worrying about feeding my kids MSG and other additives. I used some ingredients commonly used in Asian stocks/soups to make the stock powder more suited to Asian cooking though I'm sure you could use whatever ingredients you like create your own version of stock powder, just dehydrate and blend!

I don't have a precise recipe for this...but this is what I did...

1. Dehydrate ingredients in an oven until dry. For vegetables: 150°C for first 5-10 minutes, then about 100°C until dry. For meat: 230°Cfor 15-20 minutes till brown then 150°C until dry. In between I will remove any dry bits and also remove the meat from the bone and shred up into small pieces so it can dry faster. Be patient...once the items seem almost dry, you can switch off the oven and let the residual heat continue to dry the items out further.
2. Place everything in the thermomix and blend on speed 10 until you have a fine powder.

This is what I added into my stock powder:

• Chicken (about 1/2 a chicken)
• Jin Hua Ham (1 slice)
• Spring onions (about 1 small bunch)
• Onions (about 2 medium)
• Garlic (2-3 cloves)
• Dried Shitake mushrooms (2-3)
• Dried Scallops (2-3 medium/large)
• Salt (about 1 tsp)

It smells fantastic! When I add it into soups I don't really taste the stock powder or the individual ingredients in it, but it does seem to give the soup some depth and enhances the flavour.

Thai Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Ma Muang)

Thai Mango Sticky Rice

On my recent trip to Thailand, I bought back some Thai Sweet Rice. It is actually glutinous rice, but it is less sticky than our local version and holds its shape even after cooking. I've tried making this dessert before, but used our local glutinous rice by mistake and the result was a horrible soggy mess.

Mangoes are in season and I managed to buy some thai honey mangoes at NTUC last week. After keeping them for a few days, they finally ripened over the weekend and I decided to try making Khao Niao Ma Muang again. It turned out perfect!

I made some adapations to the original recipe though. Firstly, I quardupled the recipe, as I figured with all the effort I may as well make more. The 2 cups of rice was just nice for 5 adults. I followed the quantity in the original recipe and ended up with too much coconut milk left over. So the recipe below reflects the reduced amount.

 

Thai Mango Sticky Rice

adapted from here

INGREDIENTS

For the Rice

2 cups raw sticky rice

1 cup coconut milk 

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar

2 ripe thai honey mango

For the Sauce

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon tapioca flour/ rice flour/ corn flour

 

METHOD

1. Soak the sticky rice for at least an hour before steaming. I soaked it before bed and steamed the next morning.
2. Line the varoma tray with a cheese cloth. Drain the rice and spread it on the cheese cloth in an even layer.
3. Steam for 20-25 minutes on varoma temperature,speed 1.
4. While steaming, prepare the sauce for the rice. Add the 1 cup of coconut milk to a saucepan along with the 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar & 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir over low heat until dissolved. Set aside.
5. Prepare the topping sauce as well. In another small saucepan, add the 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, and stir over low heat until dissolved. Mix the flour with a little bit of water in a small bowl until a paste, then add as well. Mixing the starch beforehand will prevent any lumps from forming in the sauce. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat.
6. When the rice is finished, spread out in a shallow bowl and cover with the thin sauce. Stir well and keep adding more until you reach saturation point. It should be wet but not drowning in sauce. You will see very small puddles of coconut milk. Different brands of rice may absorb different amounts, so do adjust accordingly. Stir well and cover with a towel. Let the rice absorb the coconut milk for 10-15 minutes.
7. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off the mango and slice off the flesh on each side of the seed.
8. Scoop a small amount of sticky rice onto a plate and arrange the mango on top or to the side. Garnish with the thick coconut milk sauce.

Okara Green Tea Bread

I finally got a chance to use the okara left over from my soyabean milk the other day. I added it into the tangzhong bread recipe I have been using and made a swirly loaf. The result was a soft, light and fluffy loaf that looked great. I couldn't see or taste the okara at all, but it helps add some fibre. I also ran out of bread flour, so I had to substitute part of the flour with plain flour.

Green Tea Okara Bread

INGREDIENTS

100g bread flour
170g plain flour
45g castor sugar
pinch of salt
5g non-dairy creamer powder or milk powder
5g dried yeast
45g egg (1 small egg)
30g heavy cream
25g milk
90g tangzhong
15g okara, lightly toasted in oven
green tea powder (adjust amount to desired colour and taste)
25g salted butter

METHOD

1. Measure all ingredients except the butter into the TM bowl (flour and yeast should be last). Milk, cream and egg can be cold as the kneading will warm the ingredients.
2. Mix on speed 4 for a few seconds to combine then set to knead for 8 minutes.
3. Add in the butter (cold) and knead a further 2 minutes until butter is incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Mix in a small amount of green tea powder into one of the portions and knead until the green tea powder is evenly incorporated. Shape the 2 portions of dough into balls and place into seperate greased bowls. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 30-40 minutes till doubled in size.
5. Turn out the plain dough onto a baking mat, punch down the dough, then roll out into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Do the same for the green dough, ensuring th size is about the same.
6. Place the green dough onto the plain dough, and roll up the shorter end like a swiss roll. Tuck in the two ends and place into a greased loaf tin.
7. Allow the dough to rise for another 30 minutes.
8. Brush with milk or beaten egg before baking at 180°C 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Thermomix Hokkaido Milk Toast

I have been making bread regularly this past week as the Thermomix makes it so quick and easy. This dough also uses the tangzhong method and I am now addicted to using this method for making bread as it gives the bread a soft and fluffy texture. Hubby declared that "the bread is soooooooooo good it can be eaten on it's own".

I reduced the kneading time for this dough (compared to my previous plain bread recipe) and found that it resulted a less sticky dough which was much easier to work with. I believe higher fat content of this recipe also helped in making the dough less sticky. I think this may be my new favourite bread recipe.


After shaping. The recipe yielded 8 rolls, about
the size of a small hamburger bun after baking.

Hokkaido Milk Toast

adapted from here for the Thermomix

 

INGREDIENTS

270g bread flour
45g castor sugar
pinch of salt
5g non-dairy creamer powder  or milk powder
5g dried yeast
45g egg (1 small egg)
30g heavy cream
25g milk
90g tangzhong
25g salted butter

METHOD

1. Measure all ingredients except the butter into the TM bowl (flour and yeast should be last). Milk, cream and egg can be cold as the kneading will warm the ingredients.
2. Mix on speed 4 for a few seconds to combine then set to knead for 8 minutes.
3. Add in the butter (cold) and knead a further 2 minutes until butter is incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Shape the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 30-40 minutes till doubled in size.
5. Turn out the dough onto a baking mat, punch down the dough, then shape.
6. Allow the dough to rise for another 30 minutes.
7. Brush with milk or beaten egg before baking at 180°C 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Soyabean Milk

Soyabean milk

Last night I soaked 180g of organic soyabeans so that I could make soya milk for breakfast today. I ended up with about 1.5litres of soya milk, kept 500ml to make into egg tofu another day and we drank the rest. Since I needed unsweetened soya milk for the tofu, I boiled the soya milk plain first then added the pandan leaves and sugar after pouring out the milk for the tofu. I then air dried the left over soy pulp, toasted it in the oven to cook it and dry it out further and am storing it in an airtight container so I can try adding it to my next bread recipe.

Soyabeans after soaking

Soyabean Milk

INGREDIENTS

180g soyabeans
water
2-3 pandan leaves
Rock sugar to taste

METHOD

1. Rinse soya beans in water, then soak them in water for 4-6 hours.
2. Rinse the beans again, and pour away any husks that have come loose.
3. Place all the soyabeans in the TM bowl and fill with water to the 1.5 litre mark. Blend on speed 8 for 1 minute. If you are going to drink all the soya milk, you can add in the pandan leaves and blend them together for a stronger pandan fragrance. If you prefer a milder fragrance, add the pandan leaves to the soya milk after straining. I intended to use some of the soya milk for tofu, so I added the pandan leaves later.
4. Line the steamer basket with a cheese cloth (I used a clean nappy) and pour the soya bean mixture through the cloth.
5. Squeeze the cheese cloth to extract as much soya milk as possible.
6. Rinse out the TM bowl and lid, then pour the strained soya milk back into the TM bowl. Skim off any foam on the surface.
7. Add the pandan leaves(if you did not add them earlier) and rock sugar then cook at 100°C for 10 minutes, speed 2.
8. Serve hot or cold.

 

Soyabean pulp after straining

 

Soft & Fluffy Thermomix Bread (Tangzhong method)

I first came across the Tangzhong method of making bread from Christine's Recipes. The first time I read about it, I thought it sounded intimidating, however, I finally plucked up the courage to try it last night, and it was actually pretty easy in the Thermomix. The Bush Gourmand has adapted Christine's recipe for use in the thermomix, so I used her method as a guide, with a slight adaptation of Christine's recipe.

All the ingredients I used was cold from the fridge as I find that the kneading in the Thermomix warms the dough quite abit.

Tangzhong

INGREDIENTS (FOR TANGZHONG)

 50g bread flour
125g milk
125g water

METHOD (FOR TANGZHONG)

1. Place all ingredients in the Thermomix and cook at 70°C, speed 2, 10-15 minutes until the mixture becomes a paste. Temperature for the paste should be about 65°C when it is done.
2. Cover the surface with cling wrap (the cling wrap should touch the surface) and store in the fridge. I used mine immediately after it had cooled to room temperature.

Bread Dough

INGREDIENTS (FOR BREAD)

• 350gm bread flour
• 55gm caster sugar
  
• 2gm salt
  
• 56gm egg (I beat 2 small eggs and poured out what I needed. Keep the rest for glazing.)
  
• 7gm non-dairy creamer powder
  
• 125g milk
  
• 120gm tangzhong
  
• 6gm instant yeast
  
• 30gm salted butter

METHOD (FOR BREAD)

1. Place milk, egg, tangzhong, sugar, salt and milk powder at the bottom of TM bowl. Add the flour on top of the liquids, then the yeast on top of the flour.
2. Press the turbo 2-3 times to mix the ingredients together.
3. Knead for 10 minutes on the knead setting.
4. Add the butter and knread another 5-10 minutes on the knead setting until the dough is elastic.
5. Shape into a ball and place into a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and allow to proof for about 30 minutes until doubled in size.
6. Once risen, turn the dough out on to a lightly greased silicone mat and punch down to release the air. Proceed to shape the dough into rolls. I did some plain and some with sambal prawn filling.
7. Set the shaped dough aside for another 40 minutes to rise. 
8. Before baking, glaze with the leftover egg or milk.
9. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes (I baked rolls, if you do a loaf baking time will be longer.

Chinese Almond Tea

I love Chinese almond tea. Chinese almonds are commonly used as an ingredient in TCM. There are 2 types of Chinese almonds, South almonds aka sweet almonds and North almonds aka bitter almonds. South almonds  have a slightly sweet taste and can be eaten raw. It is used to make snacks, soup, cakes, cookies and dishes. It is believed to be good for the lungs, helps nourish the skin, and is good for coughs, colds and asthma

North almonds is also good for coughs, colds and asthma, and can also help with constipation, phlegm and perhaps even cancer. However, it contains small amounts of amygdalin which can be toxic when taken in large quantities. North almonds must be cooked to remove this toxin. North and south almonds are often mixed for cooking, and a ratio of 1:4 (bitter:sweet) is recommended to avoid toxicity from the bitter almonds.

Chinese almond creme or tea sold commercially are not only pricey, they also tend to be too sweet. I've tried doing this is a regular blender before I owned a thermomix, however, I wasn't able to blend the almonds finely enough, so it required a fair bit of sieving and extra work to transfer to another pot for cooking.

I was delighted to see the recipe for "Chinese Almond Creme" in the Taste of Asia cookbook and since I had the ingredients on hand, I decided to try it out. The result was great, and it only took 15 minutes! The thermomix can blend the almonds fine enough that I don't need to sieve the mixture. Also, since I can blend and cook in the thermomix, much less effort is needed to make this. The resulting product is more like a tea (liquid) rather than a creme. We consumed it as a drink, but if you prefer to eat it as a dessert, you may want to add more rice to get a thicker mxture.

Chinese Almond Tea

adapted from A Taste of Asia Thermomix Cookbook

 

INGREDIENTS

100g Chinese almonds (sweet)
1 tbsp Chinese almonds (bitter) (Mine are premixed, so I just used 100g of my mix)
10g white rice (original recipe states 20g, just adjust the amount for the desired thickness. Can also use other types of rice)
1l water
1 small lump of rock sugar (optional)
Splash of milk (optional)

METHOD

1. Place almonds and rice in the TM bowl. Mill on speed 10 for 10s. Scrape down bowl and repeat one more time.
2. Add water and cook for 15mins at 100°C on speed 4.
3. Add milk and sugar if using then mix for 30s on speed 9. (increase speed gradually and cover measuring cup with a cloth to prevent splashing)
4. Serve hot or cold.

Quick & Easy Thermomix Meal

Quick & Easy Thermomix meal...

I received my Thermie on Saturday morning, and have been trying out various things over the weekend, but last night was the first time using the Thermomix to cook dinner on a weekday. It was quick and easy, and I even managed to get a shower while everything was cooking before picking the kids from childcare.

1 steamed 2 MCs of white rice in the steamer basket, while steaming 2 different types of chicken (herbal for me, soy sauce for the kids) in the varoma then did a quick stir fry of xiao bai cai. After dinner, I made a milkshake for dessert which the kids enjoyed throughly.

As hubby was away, the rice turned out to be too much for us...1 MC would probably have been just right for me and the kids since we don't eat much.

 

Steamed rice

INGREDIENTS

• Rice
• Water

METHOD

1. Measure rice into steamer basket (1 MC yields a generous amount for 1 adult) and rinse under running water.
2. Place the basket into the thermomix and fill with enough water to just cover the rice. As you can see I put water slightly above the rice so the rice turned out softer than I like. I would add slightly less next time as I like my rice with some bite.
3. Steam at 100°C, speed 4, 15 minutes. (I did varoma temp since I was steaming my chicken at the same time.

Dang Gui Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 slices of dang gui
• 3/4 boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Small handful of wolfberries
• Light soya sauce
• Shao xing wine
• D.O.M

METHOD

1. Place the chicken into a bowl and season with a light drizzle of soya sauce, shao xing wine and D.O.M. Add in the dang gui slices and mix everything well. Leave it to marinade while you prepare the soy sauce chicken.
2. Steam on varoma temperature, speed 4, 15 minutes.

Soy Sauce Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Small handful of wolfberries
• 1 tsp light soya sauce
• 1/8 tsp finely chopped ginger
• Few drops of sesame oil

METHOD

1. Mix all ingredients and place onto a plate for steaming.
2. Steam on varoma temperature, speed 4, 15 minutes.

Stir Fried Xiao Bai Cai

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 packet of xiao bai cai
• Pinch of salt
• Oil for frying

METHOD

1. Wash and cut the vegetables.
2. Place garlic into the thermomix. Chop on reverse speed 5 for a few seconds. Open the lid and remove the garlic skin.
3. Scrape down the garlic, then add 1 tsp of cooking oil and heat on varoma, 4 minutes, speed stir, until garlic is lightly browned and fragrant.
4. Add in all the vegetables and a pinch of salt. Cook on varoma, 2 minutes, or till you see steam coming out from the top of the lid.

Strawberries & Cream Shake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small box of strawberries, stem removed and frozen
• 250ml strawberry milk
• 1/2 cup of natural plain yoghurt
• 1/4 cup of cream
• 20g sugar (adjust to taste)

METHOD

1. Place all ingredients into the thermomix, blend on speed 10 until smooth.