Life is Great

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
Adapted barely from Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel's The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen
Yields about 24 cupcakes

Note: I added vanilla paste for more flavor but I believe it'll be as good without. I didn't use Magnolia's classic not-really-a-buttercream frosting paired with this cupcake because it wouldn't have held up well in our weather and would really be too sweet for most people - just the thought of using 6-8 cups of sugar for one frosting recipe made my head hurt. Also, I didn't want to chill the cupcakes unnecessarily to keep them from drying out - as Magnolia recommended themselves. I went with this Swiss meringue buttercream from my birthday cake last year - one portion should ice about 20 cupcakes. Feel free to try this as well (Deb's recipe has a higher butter ratio) or go with your own favorite buttercream recipe. If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30 to 40 minutes.

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (1+ cup self-rising flour = 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt)


• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened


• 2 cups granulated/castor sugar


• 4 large eggs, at room temperature


• 1 cup milk


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two standard 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, combine the flours and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk, vanilla extract and vanilla paste. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, taking care not to overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the mixing bowl to make sure all the ingredients are well blended.

Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full (I filled mine slightly more to get higher cupcakes but still got 27 cupcakes!). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Do ahead: Cupcakes can be made up to 2 days before, store covered between layers of parchment at room temperature. Swiss meringue buttercream can be made ahead and refrigerated till needed. Bring to room temperature and whip to a smooth consistency before frosting.

Cantonese Savory Glutinous Rice Dumplings/Zongzi (粽子)
Adapted barely from Dorothy Leung's Cantonese zongzi recipe with some guidance from Joanne Khoo's beautiful Hakka Chan, for I cannot ignore my Hakka roots.
Yields 20-25 dumplings, depending on size of leaves.
Start this recipe 2 days ahead.

Notes:

Bamboo leaves: I've written this recipe to make the (usually) standard 20-25 dumplings although in this first attempt I halved my portions to wrap less. If your bamboo leaves are all uniformly big, the ingredients can be reduced to fit for 20 dumplings, otherwise err on some spares for about five dumplings. Be sure to soak/boil enough leaves for your desired recipe portion as you can put aside extra leaves to dry out but wouldn't want to be caught with insufficient leaves to finish wrapping. Pyramid shaped dumplings require 4-5 leaves each while the triangular ones use two large leaves, more in cases of any tear/leakage.

Filling: The filling is best fried the day before to allow time for flavors to develop. You may have noticed I used grapeseed oil for frying the rice and peanut oil for the filling. Dorothy's advice was to use a more mildly flavored oil for the rice - I cook with peanut oil but bake with grapeseed/canola/corn oil - but I reckon if you have only one type of cooking oil it wouldn't hurt. Traditionally the peanuts are boiled or soaked in salted water till tender. We like ours crunchy with more flavor so I roasted them instead. There are several schools of method in preparing the filling. Some like their filling in uniform, small pieces so the meat and mushrooms are cut up and fried together. I like my meat and mushrooms in bigger pieces so they can be eaten separately. For this you can either fry them separately with divided seasonings or fry them all together and then separate them into containers, like I did, another trick taught by my dumpling guru.

Halal option: Pork belly can be replaced with beef or chicken, use the fattiest cuts available as the fat is not only essential for flavor but also keeps the dumplings moist and the rice tender while cooking. You can also mince the beef or chicken to evenly distribute the fatty bits. Shaoxing wine can be omitted or replaced with a mixture of water, sugar and vinegar.

• 80 pieces bamboo leaves (if in a pack use the entire pack for spares)


• 30-40 pieces grass strings (sold together with the leaves, prepare spares in case of breakage, if not available use regular kitchen strings, cut into 4-feet lengths)


• 1200 grams glutinous rice


• 30 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms


• 500 grams pork belly


• 300 gram fresh peanuts


• 100 grams dried shrimps


• 30 pieces chestnuts


• 15 pieces salted egg yolks


• 300 grams XO sauce, oil strained and set aside for frying rice


• 120 grams shallots, peeled and sliced thinly


• 3 tablespoons peanut oil


Seasoning for the filling:


• 2-3 tablespoons peanut oil


• 4 tablespoons oyster sauce


• 2 tablespoons Chinese five spice powder


• 2 tablespoons soy sauce


• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce


• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine


• 2 teaspoons sesame oil


• salt and pepper to taste


Seasoning for the rice:


• 1 tablespoons grapeseed oil


• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil drained from XO sauce used for filling


• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil from frying shallots for the filling


• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce


• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce


• 2 tablespoons Chinese five spice powder


• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Day 1: If you're a bit crazy like me, you will be using and making your own XO sauce. Prepare this two days before making the dumplings. Caveat: Refrain from consuming too much of the sauce on this day else you would realize there's too little left for your huge dumpling project. Soak the dried mushrooms and chestnuts overnight.

Day 2: This will be the day of filling frying and prepping of all ingredients. I like to get everything ready on this day for less stress on dumpling day. Soak the glutinous rice, bamboo leaves and grass strings overnight. Drain the mushrooms completely and cut bigger pieces into half. Drain and peel the chestnuts. Half the salted egg yolks. Cut the pork belly into pieces about 1-centimeter thick, each piece with layers of skin, fat and meat intact. In a small bowl, mix all the seasoning ingredients for frying the filling except the oils.

In a large wok or frying pan, heat the oil for frying the filling. On medium high heat, add the mushroom and sauté for about one minute. Add in the dried shrimps and toss for another minute. Add in the pork belly. Reduce heat to medium and add in the seasoning mixture. Fry for about 2 minutes, mixing well to coat. Add in the sesame oil, give it another toss and remove to a heatproof bowl. With a pair of chopsticks, separate the mushrooms and pork pieces into two containers, with bits of dried shrimp divided in each. Store all prepped ingredients (egg yolks, chestnuts, mushrooms, meat) in the fridge till needed.

Day 3: On the big day, start by roasting the peanuts and set aside to cool (if boiling/brining instead, you can do this the day before). In a large wok or heavy saucepan on medium low heat, fry the sliced shallots with the peanut oil till golden brown. Remove the shallots onto a piece of kitchen paper and set aside, leaving about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the shallot oil in the wok/pan. Reduce heat to low and add in the rice. Toss briefly to coat and add in the XO sauce oil. Add the in rest of the seasonings and toss quickly just to mix well. Remove the rice into a heatproof bowl and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile wash the bamboo leaves, drain them and cut off the rigid end of the stems with a pair of kitchen scissors. Set out the grass strings to ensure easy access with no tangles. Arrange rice, leaves, strings and the rest of the filling ingredients to prepare for wrapping.

To wrap the Malaysian/Singaporean style triangular dumpling, layer two bamboo leaves in your palm, smooth side up. Form a cone using the top end of the leaves, making sure the tip of the cone is sealed well. Add in two tablespoons of rice. Layer the rest of the filling ingredients as desired, then top with additional two to three tablespoons rice until the cone is almost full. Press down the rice and filling firmly. Fold the remaining part of the leaves over the top of the cone and wrap tightly around the dumpling (photo guide here by Reese of Season with Spice and video here, thanks to Lisa H. of From My Lemony Kitchen, check out her pretty Nyonya version!). Tie a piece of grass string around it snugly, making sure the dumpling stays in one piece while boiling.

To wrap the Hong Kong style pyramid shaped dumpling, hold a piece of leave on each hand and overlay them to form a cone with the middle part of the leaves, making sure the tip of the cone is sealed well. Add in two tablespoons of rice. Layer the rest of the filling ingredients as desired, then top with additional two to three tablespoons rice, pressing down the rice and ingredients tightly until the cone is full to the brim. Add a piece of leave on each side of the cone, keeping the ends aligned and with about 3 cms of overlay from the brim of the filling. Holding the cone snug with both hands, push down the overlay on the left and right sides with your thumbs, making sure the rice is covered at this point. Fold up the bottom and top ends of the overlaying leaves to seal, forming a rectangular or square dumpling base. Cut off the extra bit of leaves jutting out of the dumpling base if required. To tie, place the half length point of a piece of grass string at the pyramid base. Loop one end of the string around the top of the pyramid, repeat on the opposite side. Twist the string where they meet at the pyramid base to switch direction 90 degrees and repeat the looping to complete the four sides. Knot at the base of the pyramid to secure. Check out the video here, though the tying method is different.

To cook the dumplings, bring a large pot of water (enough to cover all the dumplings) to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium. Place the wrapped dumplings into the water, making sure all of them are fully submerged. Cook covered for 2 hours. Remove and drain completely before unwrapping to serve. If you have a pressure cooker then boil for approximately 30 to 40 minutes on pressure, then depressurize naturally. Wrapped and cooled dumplings can keep for up to two weeks in the fridge or a month in the freezer, just steam them for 15 minutes to reheat.

XO Sauce
Adapted barely from Tony Tan's recipe in the Australian Gourmet Traveller November 2009 Issue.
Yields about 2 cups.
Prep time 30 minutes, cook time 40 minutes.

Note: Changes made - I added ginger and sake to the original recipe for more flavor. You may use regular sugar or palm sugar; I used brown sugar for flavor and a darker colored sauce. For a halal version, replace the prosciutto/parma ham with raw salty beef bacon and the alcohol with a dash of vinegar. You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead for best results. To roast the shrimp paste, wrap in aluminum foil and fry over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Dried shrimp roe is available from Asian grocers. You may swap belacan with salted fish or dried octopus, which I reckon are more common in a Chinese pantry. While one cup of oil may seem likely to give you a coronary, don't be tempted to reduce it for this amount of ingredients less you want a burnt, dry sauce.

• 25 grams dried scallops
• 75 grams dried prawns
• 250 milliliters (1 cup) vegetable oil, or just enough to cover all the ingredients
• 75 grams garlic (about 20 cloves), finely chopped
• 2 inches ginger, finely minced
• 75 grams red shallots (about 6), finely chopped
• 50 grams jamón ibérico, parma ham or prosciutto, finely shredded
• 25 grams fresh long red chilies (about 6), seeded and finely chopped
• 15 grams dried long red chilies, seeded, soaked and finely chopped
• 7 grams dried birdseye chilies, finely chopped
• 5 grams roasted shrimp paste (belacan; see note)
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp roe, crumbled (see note; optional)
• 15 grams light brown sugar, or to taste
• 250 milliliters (1 cup) tepid water
• pinch of salt or to taste
• 2 tablespoons sake or Shaoxing wine (optional)

Soak dried scallops and dried prawns separately in 125 milliliters warm water each until plump, preferably overnight. Drain scallops (reserve the soaking water), tear them into fine shreds, pat dry on absorbent paper and set aside. Drain prawns (reserve water), chop them finely and set aside.

Heat half the oil in a wok or large saucepan over medium-high heat, add scallops and deep-fry until very crisp, about 1-2 minutes. Drain well and pour the hot oil into the remaining half set aside earlier. Wipe out wok with absorbent paper, return all the oil into it and bring up to medium heat. Add garlic, shallots, ginger and dried prawns and stir continuously until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.

Add prosciutto, fresh chilies and dried chilies, fry for a few seconds (be careful and reduce heat if necessary, it may burn easily). Add shrimp paste, fried scallops and reserved scallop and prawn water and stir continuously for a few more seconds. Add remaining ingredients and a pinch of salt (watch the amount as many ingredients are already salty and sauce will reduce). Stir occasionally until fragrant and water has completely evaporated, about 20-30 minutes.

Remove from heat, strain and reserve all the oil. Transfer solids to a sterile jar, then pour in enough reserved oil to cover. Makes about 2 cups. XO sauce will keep refrigerated in a sealed container for 1 month (good luck with that).