Bread and Batter – Page 5 – The Occasional Cook

Asian Dishes, Bread and Batter, Malay, Meat, Singapore

Roti John

June 2, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

Essentially a minced beef french toast on a batard. Who invented this nobody really knows but definitely in Singapore/Malaysia during Colonial rule.

Buy baguette or batard or what we locals simply call the French Loaf (Roti Perancis). Cut in half and then slice open but don’t cut all the way through.

Prepare seasoning ingredients. Curry powder, ground chillies, chopped coriander, minced beef. Crack five small eggs and whisk till smooth.

Pour two to three tablespoons of oil, and then add a teaspoon of ground chilli paste. Fry till chilli is cooked then add minced beef. Mine is already precooked but it’s ok to use raw ones too, just cook longer till beef is thoroughly cooked through. Add 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder and salt and black pepper. Add one teaspoon of chopped coriander.

Now this is the tricky bit. Form and spread meat mixture in the hot pan to roughly cover the area of the bread. Quickly pour just enough whisked egg to cover the meat mixture and the spread the bread on top of it. Use your fingers to manipulate and get all the egg and meat mixture into the bread. Press down and cook till browned. Flip over and cook the other side so both sides are crispy.

Above is the non-chilli version. Suitable for kids and those who don’t like it too spicy.

To serve, fold the bread and then slice into roughly one inch portions. Make a mixture of ketchup, chilli sauce, water and lime juice to dip the bread with.

Try it! It’s a hawker favourite, especially back in the 80s.

Bread and Batter, breakfast, Malay

Roti Telur Tuna (Tuna Egg Bread)

February 11, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

Ok this is a super unhealthy and very sensitive food item for the family. This is a snack that is sold quite commonly. Essentially it’s a stuffed French toast filled with spicy sardines or a hot dog. I posted a brief post about this years ago sans the backstory.

So the story goes that a few weeks before my dad passed away because of a heart attack, he would eat this snack every single day. He was a taxi driver and so there’s some Malay stall somewhere (as you can see, my mom refuses till now to share details) that he would frequent for breakfast. And, this part I knew then, he was having heart problems. The doctors have told him to go for a balloon operation but my dad refused. He used to always say he’ll die at 50. Lo and behold, he really did. And my mom would always blame this snack for pushing him to the end.

Let me share with you this controversial snack. Eat in absolute moderation.

I used canned spicy tuna instead of sardines that day. You need only use store bought sliced bread, and roll it thin. Yes, with a rolling pin.

See the difference? So there’s more space…

Add filling and then roll tight. I didn’t manage to roll as tightly as I should. Then right before frying, dip in egg and fry till golden brown.

Drain well on paper towels and dab dab dab excess oil…

Bread and Batter, breakfast

Pizza!

September 16, 2017September 16, 2017 7shasha7

Last week I used the Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook to make fresh pizza dough. And it was easy peasy! Just add two cups of plain flour and salt to the bowl. Ten minutes earlier I ha dissolved a packet of yeast to a glass of lukewarm water and honey. So bubbly and foamy, add that water mixture and olive oil to the flour mix and beat away! After two minutes, add more water till a nice soft dough is formed. As it’s my first time making fresh pizza dough with a mixer, I must say that the beating process in the machine makes for a very very very nice soft elastic dough. And then just let it rest for an hour till it rises before rolling and baking. Yummy pizza 🍕

Bread and Batter, Desserts, Japanese/Korean, Sides, Snack

Hoddeok – Korean sweet pancakes

February 15, 2015March 3, 2021 7shasha7

I love anything doughy and especially fried. Ever since I heard about these delightful Korean pancakes, I’ve been craving for them. It wasn’t until a friend actually made them and testified that it was easy to make did I try it myself. There’s this lovely eccentric Korean woman on the web – Maangchi. And her recipe for this hoddeok is flawless. I made them a few weeks ago – twice! Do give it a go. Her recipe is here: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/hoddeok

It’s not as difficult as it looks. The dough is soft, even when it’s a bit cold. Delicious!

Bread and Batter

Jamie Oliver’s Pizza Dough

March 18, 2014March 18, 2014 7shasha7

Last weekend I made pizza from scratch. I remember making this a long long time ago, about 11 years to be precise, for my now hubby. At that time, I made the pizza heart-shaped. I remember in a fit of anger dumping the entire pizza in the bin. Apparently last weekend when I made this pizza he recalled the incident too. What’s even more interesting is that we both don’t remember what the fight was about. This is a lesson we should all learn-life is too short to waste time fighting and arguing and throwing tantrums. We won’t remember them anyway.

The pictures show the steps I followed. I also figured out that 30g of active yeast is equivalent to 3 tablespoons.

I’ve a weakness for all things spicy and the pizza topping was really mild. I peppered my slice with lots if Habanero Tabasco. 😋

The last three smallish pizzas I brought to work for brunch with the Breakfast Club colleagues turned friends.

For a full proof pizza dough, I trust Jamie now. 🙂