Arumi Frozen Korean Pancakes - Choose Between Kimchi and Seafood @ NTUC Fairprice [Singapore]

I hate to admit this but an air-fryer should be classified as a necessity for any household. No thanks to it, I have been buying quite a lot of frozen stuff and aside from FreezePak Crispy Chicken Nuggets, another item that would always take a spot in my freezer would be Korean pancakes. 

Specifically the ones above; Arumi frozen Korean pancakes. Made in Korea, they came in two different flavours; either Kimchi or seafood, which is usually the options available at Korean restaurants and one pack comes with three pancakes. Original price is S$7.90 per pack from NTUC Fairprice supermarkets.

Even though it might appear a bit expensive, I think we must be mindful that Korean pancakes in restaurants are priced about S$20 in general and given the convenience, a smaller piece that cost less than S$3.00 each is still acceptable.

You can either pan-fry or put it in the oven; I chose the air-fryer at 200 degrees over 12 minutes, turning it to the other side at the 6-minute mark. 

I like mine with a crispier circumference! Now, I am actually particular about Korean pancakes as many were just full of flour but they were nice for sharing in Korean restaurants. So far, the better one in Singapore came from Pa Bul Lo Korean Charcoal BBQ and it was priced at S$22.00, before GST and service charge.

These frozen ones attracted me for the following reasons; the batter was thinner, resulting in a crispier bite that was way more satisfying and Arumi was pretty generous with key ingredients like kimchi and seafood; see that large slice of kimchi, and the pockets of squid meat in the picture above! 

At times, NTUC Fairprice would have promotions for the pancakes and for the month of July, each pack had a discount of S$2.00, costing only S$5.90; each Korean pancake would cost less than S$2.00! Needless to say, accumulation is a must and I have six packs at home now... Should I buy more? 

Piggy Mooncakes (猪仔月饼) using 30g Mold from Phoon Huat #piggymooncake #pigmooncake

The eerie 7th month is finally over and with the upcoming mid-autumn festival, many avid home bakers are ramping up their production for mooncakes! I would of course be baking some traditional mooncakes using this recipe and it's common to have a little bit of leftover dough and filling.

This is when this old school wooden piglet mold comes into the picture. Purchased from Phoon Huat at less than S$5.00, each can fit, comfortably, 30 grams of dough and filling and you can adjust accordingly to your preference! 

Like many others, I love more filling though dough and hence, would use a dough-filling ratio of 10:20. Frankly, leftover dough is more an issue for me although you can still freeze them for re-use in the near future. You may also consider piggy mooncake that's just made of dough with no filling.

Using a cling wrap and a rolling pin, flatten the 10-gram dough. Do follow this recipe if you would like to know how I made the dough. This would allow you to easier wrap the filling.

After wrapping, it's important to dust with fine flour and made sure the dough has a leathery 'feel' before you put t into the mold. Failure to do that would result in the dough sticking to the dough and you would need time and effort to dig them out using a toothpick.

Molding time! As the "nose" is the thinnest area, do ensure the cavity is given due attention. If not, you would be faced with an "injured" piglet that would not be suitable as giveaways. 

Ta-dah! Not the prettiest piglet around and it kind of reminded me of the suckling pig that used to be served in many Chinese wedding banquets. I know some talented bakers would hand-mold the piglet mooncakes; pity I don't possess such skill! 

A closer look.

Wrapped up the filling with the dough using the ratio shared earlier. This was done as our dear Jovyn would like to have a go in giving the final makeover for the plain-looking ball. 

The use of wooden molds and the subsequent loud knocking were part and parcel of traditional mooncake making in the past but it's not that easy. For me, the mooncake-press is more straightforward in saving both time and effort.

Jovyn was actually pretty good for a newbie! 

Time to bake! As mentioned in the recipe, spray with water before throwing them in a pre-heated 170-degree-celcius oven! I go 15-15-15 rule; 15 minutes of baking, take out and leave them for 15 minutes, brush egg wash before putting them back into the oven for another 15 minutes! 

Cooked piglets.

Ready for immediate consumption but do note that the texture might be a tad crunchy right after baking. For traditional mooncakes, we would usually store them in an air-tight container for about 3 days so that the texture would soften. However, Jovyn loves the piglets better in their crunchier state.

Easy 3-Ingredient Japanese Chawanmushi for Lazy Bums; Premix from Tom Sir #chawanmushi #tomsir #mingdafoodcoltd

When Japanese cuisine started getting popular for the masses over two decades ago, there were a few dishes i was obsessed with; teriyaki chicken don, gyudon and chawanmushi.

While i am no cooking expert, i was under the impression that chawanmushi would be one of the easiest to master. C'mon, it's just steamed egg. Turned out it was far more complicated than i expected and i had to continue buying from Japanese eateries for just a small serving that's hardly satisfying! 

Times have changed, technology has improved and i would like to introduce you to an easy to make, 3-ingredient Japanese chawanmushi for lazy bums like myself! Marketed under the brand "tom sir", it hailed from Taiwan and came in six flavours; miso-lobster, corn-ham, chicken-abalone, seaweed-scallop, seafood-crab and seaweed-fish. 

Each pack contained three sachets of premixed chawanmushi powder and one would be good enough for four persons. At times when i don't feel like having any carbohydrates; i would actually cook one sachet and had the chawanmushi as my main meal. 

As mentioned, you only need three ingredients; one sachet of powder, 400-450 ml of cold water and three eggs. Incredibly simple! If you are the kind who loves to add in prawns, mushrooms, seaweed etc, you can also do so. 

Steps

A few friends had asked me for the step by step instructions to make the chawanmushi and although it's long overdue and i had already messaged them over the phone; i thought this might benefit those who are keen to try out this easy chawamushi. 

Break three eggs and mix them up; leave them aside. You may sift them if you are worried about bubbles. 

Pour the 400-450 ml cold water into the pot / bowl that you would use eventually to steamed the chawanmushi. Why cold water? I have no idea; i was instructed by the lady who sold the product to me.

Add in the premixed chawanmushi powder to the bowl of cold water and stir the contents to ensure the powder has dissolved in the water. 

Stir as you pour in the eggs so that the mix is consistent. After this, you could add in other ingredients like prawns, mushrooms, seaweed etc. There was once i even added a hotdog! 

Cover the top with cling wrap and steamed the chawanmushi over medium fire for about 15-20 minutes. With frequent bad luck for under-cooked food, my preference is for the top-range of the instructions. 20 minutes it shall be but i did realize something; the knob i turned for the fire this time was for high! 

20 minutes later, the chawanmushi was finally ready for consumption! 

That's the problem with not listening to instructions; the high fire had made the chawanmushi slightly overcooked at the edges which had curled in. 

Texture was still as good as remember; smooth, wobbly like beancurd and it was chockablock full of that irresistible unami flavour! 

And the best thing; there was plenty of the amazingly delicious soup underneath the steamed egg! Now that i am down to my last pack, i guess it's time to order again!

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To Purchase

I happened to chance upon this product at one of those makeshift stalls at the lunar new year street bazaar at Chinatown in 2019 and one pack cost S$12. 

Nowadays, i would message Yan Xia (8387-4990) for free delivery instead with a minimal order of S$80; do remember to ask for discounts as typical offers range from buy 3 get 1 free / buy 5 get 2 free.  

Making Green Bean Soup - A Super Simple Recipe without Pandan Leaves #asiandessert #greenbeansoup

With the circuit breaker in force due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there's one particular item that i have been making at my kitchen for the past few weeks; the super under-rated green bean soup which is said to be a cooling dessert suitable for Singapore's hot climate! 

The recipe is easy and i shall share it for your benefit. Just note that i love the soup and not the beans; hence, i have the tendency to reduce the portion. If you love to chew on cooked green beans, by all means add more. 

Ingredients

Green Bean - 5 tablespoons (about 1/3 cup)

Honey Rock Sugar - around 5 medium-sized pieces

Plain Water - 3500 ml 

Sweet Potatoes - 2 larges pieces

Instructions

Wash the beans with plain water at least three times; as mentioned earlier, i don't enjoy beans that much and the amount i used would be considered little by many. My mom would have used about a cup of green beans for a similar portion. 

Use 500 ml of the water and boil the green beans under high heat. Cover the pan / pot. If you have clean pandan leaves, you can tie up and put in two / three strips. The reason for using just 500 ml in the beginning is because we need to save time. The reasoning given to me is that we would have to wait too long for the water to boil if we throw all the water in. Oh well, there's always the electric kettle...

While waiting for the water to boil, let's proceed to peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces. Again, this is dependent on your preference but the smaller they are, the faster they will cook. 

Once the water boils and the green beans start to 'dance', it's time to lower the heat to the minimum. Of course you can let the beans jump longer as you can then guarantee they will be cooked. The problem with them dancing too long is that their 'skin' starts to fall out and in my mom's opinion, that's a failed version of green bean soup.

Throw in the sweet potatoes at this point. 

There might not be enough water to cover the sweet potatoes and you can add in more water. I used another 500 ml in this case. 

After you are done, cover the pan / pot again. Again, the heat should be lowered to the minimum and my dear mom's advice is for you to monitor the conditions of the green beans as you wouldn't want them dancing too hard. Her conservative mind dictates that the green beans should be fully clothed when you eat them. 

15 minutes had passed and it's time to add in the honey rock sugar! My family has always been using this type of rock sugar to make green bean soup as it gives an appetizing, floral sweetness to the soup. The older generation also believes rock sugar is better than refined sugar. 

I normally add about 4-5 pieces of medium-size rock sugar but my version is said to be less sweet than my sister's. Using a clean spoon, you can taste and decide if you prefer the soup to be sweeter or less sweet; for the latter, you can just add in more water. 

Once the rock sugars are all dissolved, your soup is ready! If you find the sweet potatoes still too raw, cook the soup a bit longer but don't cover the pot / pan. After which, take out a bowl to enjoy this delicious Asian dessert. 

For the rest, wait for them to cool before transferring to an empty container, and putting it into the fridge. For me, this would last between 3-5 days and in hot weather, it's extremely tasty to have just one bowl.