Christmas Gingerbread Frappe | Starbucks Style

Christmas is almost upon us and it means that it is about time that we start getting excited for the holiday season. This means nice spicy smelling foods. But the problem is that Australia is starting to warm up for the summer so it's hard for us to have the traditional warm spicy food smells. Instead I've come up with a cold option and hopefully you will like it.

Gingerbread is something that we associate with Christmas, we make ginger bread cookies as a family and the smell of the cookies baking in the oven is enough to tell you that Christmas is around the corner.

So today we are going to mix the flavours of gingerbread and summer together to bring you the taste of a gingerbread frappe. You've probably tried this drink before at Starbucks if you are lucky enough to have one near you. I recently tried this drink, about a month ago to be exact and it is DELISH. It tasted like gingerbread a lot, and I'm happy to be able to present to you a pretty similar drink for the summer.

There isn't much to tell you about this drink other than that it is amazing everyone should try it and there is no reason why it should be restricted for drinking in the summer. And I'll also provide an easy way for you to make this drink, without all the hassle that goes on behind the Starbucks counter.

And with that, let's get started.

Ingredients
2 cups coffee flavoured milk frozen
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp mixed spice
whipped cream, to garnish
extra cinnamon, to garnish

Method
1. Put everything into a blender apart from garnish. Blend till smooth.
2. Pour into a serving glass, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

And there you have it, Starbuck's seasonal drink at the comfort of your own home for next to nothing. This is the perfect summer drink for those of us with summery Christmas's but there is no reason for you to only drink this at Christmas, feel free to whip it out all year long.

I hope that you'll enjoy the gingerbread goodness, and I'll try and post more recipes soon seeing as I'm now on holidays for 3 months. Woooooooh. Remember to stay healthy, happy and safe over the holiday season!

Korea Chocolate Bread 초코 버터 브레드 |Tom n Toms Style|

It's FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY. It is also the last day of this blogging week :(

I'm surprised that I've been able to keep blogging for a week because so much has been happening, and I've just been so swamped and busy as well. But it's here. day 5 of recipes, and I'm really happy to share this one with you guys. Especially after  the response I got for a similar recipe I shared earlier.

I shared the Tom n Toms Honey Butter Bread a while back, so today I've come back to cap this week off with the Tom n Toms Choco Butter Bread. This one is just as indulgent, if not more because of the chocolate. And the version I share with you may be best left to group gatherings because you will drown in the richness of the dessert.

You know the drill, it's time to get started

Ingredients
5cm thick piece of white bread (white tastes best)
4 tbs butter
4 tbs nutella ot any chocolate spread
2 tbs chocolate sauce
2 tbs strawberry
1 scoop vanilla (or chocolate) ice cream or whipped cream (from a can is fine)

Method 
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Spread butter on one side of the bread.
3. Cut the bread into 9 cubes and keep the shape of the bread.
4. Put the bread into the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Spread nutella on the buttered bread.
6. Place scoop of ice cream on the centre, or a generous amount of whipped cream. Top with lashings of chocolate and strawberry sauce. Serve immediately.

And there you have it, another delectable Tom n Toms creation to enjoy at home.

THAT is it. I hope that you have enjoyed my week's worth of blogs because it certainly has been fun to be sharing some of my favourite little snacks and tid-bits with you guys this week. This week I've been sharing things that I would usually deem to small or easy to make for a normal recipe, but with the nature of this weeks posts I think it has been OK.

Please do continue to scroll through all the recipes on the blog if you would like more, especially because I don't really know when I'll be back with another post :/ But please do remember to stay safe, healthy and happy. 

Chai Tea Frappe

Hey everyone, I can't believe that tomorrow will be the last day of this blogging week. I can't believe that a week has gone by so quickly. WOW, I was planning to get so much done in this week but most of it just hasn't happened.

Anyways I've been getting this blogging week done which has been good :)

I hope that you like me putting more substantial food on the blog yesterday, although today I've converted back to posting about a drink. I only tried this drink out about 6 months ago, but I have been hooked and I will order it whenever I see it on the menu at a cafe. So I thought that it would only be right for me to share it with you guys as well, especially since it is snack week.

It's the chai tea frappe, or smoothie as it is also known. It's the refreshing hot drink that we all know and love transformed into a cool refreshing version for the summer months. It's got tea goodness, along with the hint of spices and the nice refreshing hit of ice to keep you cool, calm and collected through the heat.

Ingredients
2 cups of chai tea, brewed and cooled
1 cup of almond milk or full cream milk
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
4 cups of ice cubes
1 tbsp of honey or sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
whipped cream
cinnamon to garnish

Method 
1. Pour the milk, tea, ice, honey, ice cream and vanilla into a blender.
2. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
3. Pour the drink into serving glasses and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon to garnish.

And you are DONE. A simple chai tea frappe at home.

I hope that you enjoyed today's recipe. It was more simple than all the others so far, but it is still as good and delicious because it is so simple. Stay tuned for the last installment of snack week tomorrow. 

Japanese Potato Salad

I hope that everyone has been having a pleasant day so far, because it is certainly going to get bettor once I tell you about today's recipe. Unlike the other days today is going to be a bit more effort and work...only a bit more but I assure you the end product is worth it.

You may never convert back to the usual potato salad after you try this. Today I'm going to be posting about the Japanese potato salad. For those of you who may have tried this before you may know that it is a lighter and creamier version of the usual Western potato salad. It's just as delicious though and it perfect to eat as a snack in the spring or as a side dish all year round.

Unlike the usual Western potato salad being really rich and acidic the use of Japanese mayonnaise Kewpie means that the dish is kept light and more mild in terms of taste.

I really just want to share with recipe with you so let's go!

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes (any will do)
1 small carrot
1 small cucumber
1/2 brown onion
1 egg
1/2 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Place washed potatoes and carrots along with the egg in a pot of salted water to boil for 10 minutes. Remove the egg after 10 minutes and continue to cook the potatoes and carrot until cooked through
2. Peel the egg and dice it up.
3. Thinly slice the cucumber, and sprinkle salt on the cucumber to dehydrate it a bit.
4. Dice the onion, not too fine though.
5. Remove carrots and potatoes when cooked through.
6. Dice the carrot and the potato with the skin on (gives it salad a wonderful flavour). Sprinkle some salt on both these and place into a bowl.
7. Squeeze the water out of the cucumber and onion and add to the bowl.
8. Add the egg and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and mix everything together.
9. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

And there you have it, A simple and delightful Japanese potato salad in the comfort of your own home to enjoy all year around. It may even substitute as a lonely dinner for one on a lonely evening (we've all been there T_T)

I hope that you enjoyed that recipe today because I'm pretty sure that once you have tried this you won't want to go back to the usual potato salad. This is less dense but still so enjoyable. I hope that you've been enjoying all the posts so far because there's only 2 days left after this :(

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Hey there, I think we've had quite a few nice drinks so far so today I've decided to come up with some food food. Something that is a starter, but actual food that you can chew on. It is one of my favourite things ever, cheese sticks.

I know that not everyone is a fan of cheese, and I don't understand at all - how can you not like cheese? But anyways, these are really nice and you can always trick your non-cheese eating friends that it is fish fingers and wait for the reaction because it is HILARIOUS.

There isn't much to say about this dish other than that it is delectable, crispy on the outside and molten cheese on the inside. Feel free to choose whatever cheese you want inside, but it does work best with a soft cheese that oozes as you bite into it. I like to use mozzarella because it is my favourite, but you can use Brie or Camembert or even cheddar if you would like to.

I have nothing else to say so let's get this recipe started!

Ingredients
200g mozzarella cheese
100g flour
50g corn flour
1 large egg beaten
100g bread crumbs
oil to fry in
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (parsley, tarragon or chives)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Method
1. Preheat oil to 180C
2. Combine the flour and corn flour. Season flour with salt and pepper.
3. Cut mozzarella into 16 sticks, making sure cheese is cold
4. Dip cheese into flour, then egg, into flour again, egg again and finally breadcrumbs (this will seal everything in)
5. Lower cheese sticks into flour and fry for a few minutes until the outside is golden. Drain on paper towels a bit.
6. While cheese sticks are cooking combine mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic powder and herbs in a bowl and mix.

And there you have it. The perfect finger food for a party, or even a snack for yourself on a lonely movie night in. 

I hope that you guys like today's post. I can't believe I'm already on day 4 eeeeek. Anyways stay tuned for more tomorrow :D

Thai Iced Tea

Hey peoples. 

It is ridiculously hot today. Probably because it is currently 1pm, and I woke up about 11am.... It's still hot. I hope that yesterdays recipe was good. Because today I'm coming back with something that will be perfect to sip on today and it is just a skip over from the pond. 

Today I'm going to post up a recipe for Thai iced tea. This stuff is amazing, just as sweet and refreshing but no where near as huge of a caffeine hit. Which could be a good thing if you are worried about lying wide awake at 3am in the morning. 

The drink is similar to the Vietnamese coffee from yesterday because it is also chilled with lots of ice and sweetened with condensed milk, milk and coconut milk for extra flavour and depth. There isn't much to the recipe once again, but let's get started. 

Ingredients

100g thai tea mix (OR 4 black tea bags)

60g sugar

1 L boiling water

A LOT of ice cubes 

100ml condensed milk

100ml coconut milk

100ml evaporated milk

Method

1. Boil water in a saucepan and place in the tea and sugar. 

2. Boil for 3 minutes before letting the tea steep for 40 minutes off the heat. 

3. Strain tea into a bowl and dispose of tea leaves. 

4. Fill your serving glasses with ice

5. Mix various milks together

6. Fill glasses 3/4 up with tea

7. Fill up the rest of the glasses with the milk mixture

Serve ice cold

And there you have it, another ice cold drink to sip on in this 30 degree weather. It is supposed to only be spring, what is this? 

This drink is delectable throughout the year but hits all the right spots in summer, so go for it and make a huge batch at home and leave it chilling in the fridge to enjoy at your own discretion.

I hope that you have liked the recipe because I'll be back with more tomorrow. I can't believe it's already been 3 days :/

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

So yesterdays post was a snack. Today's post is also gonna be a snack. I think this week might end up being a blog roll of snacks from around the world.

I hope that the caramel popcorn from yesterday was a success because I'm currently snacking on some right now. I would also be sipping some of today's recipe if it wasn't for the fact that it is 10pm and I won't be able to sleep if I had some.

As you can guess from the title of this blog post, today's recipe is going to be Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Kind of like the best drink to have ever been invented if you are looking for a serious pick me up on a swealtering hot summer's day, or even just a sweltering Spring day.

In Vietnamese the drink is known as ca phe da or cafe da. It is simple and is made with finely ground Vietnamese coffee which has a distinctive earthy flavour before being mixed with condensed milk and LOTS of ice.

The coffee was introduced to Vietnam by the French during the 19th C and condensed milk was used due to the lack of fresh milk available in the country along with a dark roast of coffee. It resulted in a strong blend of coffee that was balanced by the sweet condensed milk. Anyways to the recipe:

Ingredients
2 tbs of ground Vietnamese coffee (or dark roast coffee)
2 tbs condensed milk (can adjust to own taste)
1/2 cup boiling water
A LOT of ice cubs

Method
1. Prepare the coffee in a Vietnamese coffee filter or use a coffee machine accordingly.
2. Fill your cup with ice cubes while you wait for the coffee to drip through.
3. Pour hot coffee into the cup and then top with condensed milk.
4. Add a straw and use it to stir the condensed milk through.

And there you have it, a super simple drink to make to relieve yourself from the heat of the sun any time of the year.

I hope that you have been liking the posts so far, stay tuned for more throughout the week :)

Caramel Popcorn

I'm going to be honest here, I'm terrible at keeping this whole blogging thing going, It's pretty much been at least a whole month since I've last posted a blog because I've just been too lazy. I'm not even going to say that it is because I've been bust. Every since mid-sem exams have finished I've just done nothing at home. Apart from catching up on lectures that I've missed (I've still got a long way to go).

But since it is now the mid-session break I'm going to strike another deal with you. My one week of non-stop posting. I'll do another one of those this week. Starting today and ending on Friday. So you'll have 7 new recipes to keep you entertained and cooking up a storm in the kitchen for like 1 month, maybe 6 if you do a recipe a week. There isn't going to be any particular theme this time, but who knows it might come out of nowhere.

So are we all OK with this deal? One week of posts starting today :)

So the first recipe for this week will be caramel popcorn. Sweet goodness that melts in your mouth, keeps your fingers sticky and reaching for more and more until you hit the bottom of the container. Unlike the usual caramel popcorn I'm going to put a slight twist on this one. Usually it is just sweet, but this time I'm going to give it an ultimate sweet and savory twist by using buttered popcorn instead of plain. Stay tuned for more.

Ingredients
1 pack of buttered microwave popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Pop the popcorn according to instructions on the bag.
2. In a saucepan melt the butter and then add sugar, corn syrup and 2tbs of water. Turn to medium heat and whisk until the mixture is a golden colour.
3. Turn heat off and add the baking soda and vanilla, quickly mix in.
4. Quickly pour mix over popcorn, and try to mix as well as you can without breaking the popcorn, Doesn't matter if it isn't perfectly mixed yet.
5. Pour mixture onto a lined baking tray and place in an oven pre-heated to 120C.
6. After about 20 minutes the caramel should be movable so use a spatula to evenly coat the popcorn mix in caramel. You can repeat this every 10 minutes until the popcorn is evenly coated.
7. When the mix is evenly coated, take it out of the oven to cool before storing in an air-tight container or eating straight away.

And there you have it, a sweet and buttery snack that you can have a home ready for a movie night or just a yummy snack to have all the time.

NOTE: If you want to make salted caramel popcorn you can all 1 tsp of sea salt into the melted butter mix to give it a slight salty taste.

I hope that this recipe will be enough to keep you satisfied until tomorrow because there will be more delicious goodness in tomorrows recipe.

Stay tuned for tomorrow guys!!

Homemade CocoHodo

So I’m writing this post as I sit on the plane to go on holidays. And mannnnn it is boring. So I decided that I’d just write up another blog post, even though this post won’t be going up for a couple of days.

I hope that you guys enjoyed the last post, Tom n Toms style honey bread, I’m really craving some at the moment……… too bad I’m on a plane and not actually going to a place that has Tom n Toms.

Anyways, today I’m going to be introducing you to another Korean snack food, and that is the coco hodo’s. These are little walnut pastries that are shaped like a walnut. These are particularly popular during winter when you can get them from street vendors. They are a particularly good in between meal snack to take on the go. They are quite inexpensive to buy, but it is always more fun to make your own.

To me I’d call them Korean profiteroles, although not really. It's made from a walnut pastry with a red bean filling and are AMAZING. The name is a bit deceiving when it is said in English, you sort of expect it to be made with chocolate coco = cocoa, but that might be just me.

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And that was all I got up to on the plane. I never actually managed to finish the post and here I am more than a month after returning finishing off the post. I'm so sorry for not posting much over the last 2 months, but I couldn't even access blogspot when I was on holidays and uni just got so overwhelming when I returned. I mean I've got exams in like 1 1/2 weeks and I and epically screwed.

Anyways, I hope that this recipe is going to satisfy your craving for new recipes and I'll try my best to put out recipes on a more regular basis. It should be quite easy once exams are over this semester. And I can't wait to share photos of the food that I ate whilst I was on holiday.

Anyways, back to today's recipe. Coco hodo. I'm pretty sure that I've covered all the introductory bases so let's move on to the recipe. I'm going to use a profiterole kinda pastry, so a choux pastry since I have no idea how to make the actual pastry, but I'll be adjusting it so it is similar in taste.

Ingredients
125 ml water
125 ml milk
100 grams butter
pinch of salt
100 grams flour
50g walnut flour (or almond meal) -- gives a nutty taste
4 eggs
1 cup red bean paste (store bought or home made)
2 tbs double cream
50g walnuts

Method
1. Heat the oven to 220ᴼC.
2. To make the pastry, melt the butter with water and milk in a large pan.
3. Bring to boiling point and tip in salt and flour. Using a wooden spoon beat hard for up to 30 seconds, till the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.
4. Cool to room temperature (about 10 minutes).
5. While the dough is cooling, line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
6. When the dough has cooled beat the eggs, one at the time till the dough is smooth and glossy. Pour the dough into a pastry bag and pipe out profiteroles (about the size of a walnut) leaving enough space for them to rise, otherwise spoon with teaspoons. Tip your fingers in cold water and smooth the surface of profiteroles, as any spikes are likely to burn.
7. Bake the profiteroles in 220ᴼC for 10 minutes, then reduce to 190ᴼC and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Using a knife poke a hole in each profiterole to let out the steam (and to fill later) and leave them to cool on a rack.
9. While the pastry is cooling prepare the red bean paste. You can adjust the sweetness of the paste to your liking and to make it extra smooth and creaming add 2 tbs of double cream.
10. Also cut the walnuts coarsely and mix it through the red bean mixture.
11. Fill a piping bag with the paste and get ready to pipe the pastry when it is sufficiently cool.
12. Fill the pastry with the hole that is at the base of the pastry.

And you are DONEEEEEEE.

This doesn't turn out to be a chewy as the original, but the pastry remains light and fluffy. It's not the easiest thing to make, but it is nice because it means you can still enjoy coco hodo even if you aren't near a store.

So I hope that you liked this recipe, and I'll try my best to post more often. Maybe in about 2 weeks time I'll have another post out. Until ten remember to stay safe, happy and healthy!!! 

Korean Honey Bread 허니브레드 | Tom n Toms Style |

It has been a while since I last posted a recipe again...woops. Sorry!!! I've kinda been busy packing to go on holidays :D:D:D I leave tomorrow and just procrastinating in general. I'm going to try and have all my posts for when I'm away all lined up, if not I'm going to try and write them while I'm busy travelling in cars, trains and buses.

Anyways, today's recipe is a Korean favourite. You may also love this dish if there is a Tom n Toms near where you live. There is the legend-wait for it-ary honey butter toast with ice-cream. It is absolutely AMAZING. And you know what? Today I'm going to show you how to make it at home.

It may not be exactly the same as what you can get in store, but it is a pretty good dupe and if you are like me, too lazy to actually go out and buy it you can enjoy it 24/7 at home. Honestly, for most of us it is too much of a hassle to go out to Tom n Toms unless it is literally right below where you live.

I don't know if you know about this dish much, but it is pretty much a thick slice of toast that is topped with various types of sweet things on top and it is absolutely delicious with the Tom n Toms blue lemonade.

Anyways, I'll tell you how to make it and then you can look at the pictures and just tell me whether or not you start salivating at the pictures.

Ingredients
5cm thick piece of white bread (white tastes best)
4 tbs butter
3 tbs honey
1 tsp cinnamon sugar
2 tbs caramel sauce
1 scoop vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (for a can is fine)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Spread butter on one side of the bread.
3. Cut the bread into 9 cubes and keep the shape of the bread.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the buttered bread.
5. Put the bread into the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Place scoop of ice cream on the centre, or a generous amount of whipped cream. Top with lashings of caramel sauce and honey. Serve immediately.

And there you have it, a delectable delight that will be sure to satisfy your taste buds and keep you cool this summer. A cinnamon-ey sweet treat that is amazing at Tom n Toms in the comfort of your own home. (I know the blue lemonade is amazing too, but I'm still in the process of figuring out how to make it)

It looks absolutely amazing doesn't it? It is a recipe that doesn't require anything too difficult to find so why aren't you going to the kitchen to make this right now? You're tastebuds will thank you. They seriously will.

I hope that you enjoyed this recipe a lot, I'm going to try and keep the blog posts rolling while I'm overseas, I might even do a blog post with just the photos of food that I've eaten. I hope that you have an awesome July and until next time remember to stay safe, healthy and happy!!! :D

육개장 YukGaeJang

Heyyyy dere sexy peoples.

It's been a really long time since I have posted a blog :/ I have been busy with finals for uni and completing assignments so there hasn't been any post for a really long time :( BUT I finished all of my exams yesterday, so I'm not back with a recipe. I'm going to be on break until August so I'll probably try and do a post a week, possible more sometimes.

I hope that you have all been well ~~~

Let's see how we are going in terms of seasons, it's now summer in Korea, so we probably want some summer food right? Even though it is not the hottest time of the year just yet, this dish can still be something that you can enjoy to help cool you down. And it is also great for the colder countries in the southern hemisphere where it is winter at the moment,

The dish for today is called yukgaejang (육개장). It is a spicy soup-like dish that is made with beef and scallions as well as other ingredients such as bean sprouts (kong namuel), bracken, taro stem, onion and dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles). It is usually served with rice and kimchi.

The dish can also be made using chicken, and in that case it could be called dak yukgaejang.

This is a hot spicy dish so you may be confused about why it would be eaten in the summer. Western cultures tend to eat cold foods to cool down in the summer, this cools you down from the inside. However in Korea, they also like to cool themselves down from the outside by eating hot spicy foods to sweat more and thus also be cooled that way.

Ingredients
600g beef brisket
1 small onion
100g bean sprouts
50g taro stem (found dried in Asian marts)
50g bracken (found dried in Asian marts)
3 green onions
1/2 korean radish
3 tbs chilli flakes (gochugaru)
2 tbs minced garlic
3tbs soy sauce
60ml sesame oil
60ml vegetable oil
3tbs salt
1tbs pepper
4L water

Method
1. Soak the taro stem and bracken in warm water for an hour.
2. In a large pot add beef, onion, green onions and all the water. Boil it for 30min on a medium heat with the lid on.
3. Blanch the soaked taro stems and bracken in water for about 10 minutes. Squeeze all the water out and then cut into 10cm pieces.
4. Cut the radish into 1cm pieces
5. Remove the cooked beef from the broth and let it cool for 30 min. After that, tear the beef into small strips.
6. In a bowl mix half the chilli flakes, with 3 tbs sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, 1tbs salt and the pepper. If you want you can add more chilli flakes.
7. Add the bracken, taro stem and meat in a bowl with half of the sauce and let it sit for 10 minutes.
8. Add the sauce mixture into the broth with the radish and boil it for 40min on a medium heat.
9. In a small pot add all the remaining oil and chilli flakes and stir fry for 2 minutes, constantly stirring to prevent burning.
10. Strain the chilli oil through a cheesecloth.
11. Add some more green onions, bean sprouts, rest of the spicy sauce and chilli oil to the broth and salt to season. Boil for another 10 minutes.
12. Serve with rice and kimchi.

And there you have it, a nutritious dish to eat in summer or winter to cool you down or to warm you up. Either way it is bound to satisfy you.

I hope that you like that dish because it is certainly what I'm going to have for dinner tonight as it is super-duper cold and rainy at the moment. Have a try of it when it is super hot or cold and you will feel the heat of the dish radiate throughout the rest of your body.

I'm going to post more in the coming days, and until then remember to keep warm, safe, healthy and happy!

Cookbook and Apple and Rhubarb Cake

Hey everyone, it has been so long since I've last posted a recipe and I'm really sorry about that but I've had exams. The exams are now over so I'll be posting a recipe tonight. But before I do that I have some very big news to share with you all.

I actually submitted one of the recipes on this blog for a cookbook competition at my university and it happened to get accepted. So it seems that one of my recipes is now going to be published into a cookbook. For those of you that are wondering the recipe was the one for the Gyeran Bbang, it's simple, cheap, delicious and perfect for a student like me. There was a photo shoot and all that jazz, and they are even going to film the recipe so you can also watch a video of it. There is going to be a book launch and everything, so I'm super proud about this and I'm so happy to finally be able to share it with all of you! If you haven't seen that recipe before do have a look at it, it's super scrumptious.

Now to move on to the blog for today. today's post is going to be a simple feel good dessert. It is starting to get cold here, as we start May so I thought what's better than a good old apple and rhubarb crumble. Only today I'm going to change it up a bit and convert it to a cake.

Apple and rhubarb cakes are wholesome and warm and are the perfect thing to keep you going on a cold night, or even as the spring approaches because that's technically the rhubarb season. A bit of custard or ice-cream on the side and you have the perfect dessert.

Ingredients
60 g soft unsalted butter
380g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup sour cream
grated rind of 1 lemon
250g chopped rhubarb
250g chopped apples
80g brown sugar, extra
1tsp ground cinnamon, extra
Custard or ice-cream to serve

Method
1. Mix butter and sugar in processor until blended.
2. Add one egg at a time, mixing well between additions.
3. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Sift flour, spices and sodium bicarbonate together.
4. Fold into egg mixture alternatively with combined sour cream and lemon rind.
5. Fold rhubarb and apple in using a wooden spoon.
6. Spoon mixture into a 23cm spring form pan lined with baking paper on bottom and sides.
7. Combine extra brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over cake.
8. Bake at 175C for about 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
9. Cool in pan.
10. Cut and serve with a scoop of ice-cream or a generous amount of warm custard.

And here is the recipe for my version of an apple and rhubarb cake. I hope that you guys enjoy it, enjoy the weather and the fresh foods that are available at this time of the year, it is usually one of the best. 

I'll try and post more recipes up, until I have my final exams at least....so until the next post have fun, enjoy the sun but remember to stay healthy, safe and happy! 

Steamed Egg Casserole 계란찜 Gyeran Jjim

It has been a REALLY LONG TIME SINCE I'VE LAST POSTED.

I didn't realise just how long it had been until earlier this week when I checked this blog. I am so sorry for not posting for so long, I've been juggling uni and work and just trying to find my footing as there are so many things going on.

Hopefully I'll be able to get into a regular schedule with these recipe posts once I've got everything sorted out.

To make up for not posting I'd like to tell you all that I managed to have over 1000 hits on my blog in the month of March, which was AMAZING because I didn't even post a recipe up. Thank you guys so much. You're what keeps me going.

And today I'm going to be sharing a simple recipe; nothing too fancy but comfort food. It's getting a bit colder in Sydney these day, especially over the past week so this will be a dish that is ready to warm you up.

Today's recipe is gyeran jjim (계란찜) or steamed egg casserole. You may be familiar with this dish if you are Chinese or also just Asian because this is a cheap dish that is often made by Asians on a cold day. It is simple and heart warming, what else do you need?

Today's version is going to be a bit more elaborate than the most basic form but none the less it will still be simple and delicious.

Ingredients
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 chicken stock cube
1/2 cup of spring onions, chopped finely
1/4 onion diced
1/4 zucchini, chopped
1/2 red pepper sliced
1/2 tsp salt
pinch black pepper

Method
1. Dissolve the stock cube in the water.
2. Crack the eggs into a heat safe bowl and whisk with broth.
3. Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Place bowl into a pot with hot water that goes half-way up. Cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes, ensuring that the water stays as a gentle simmer.
5. Sprinkle with some gochugaru if you want it to be spicy.

And there you have it, a super simple dish that is loved by all generations of Koreans and Asians
alike. It's great with it's silky smooth texture to serve with hot rice, or even as it's own.

I hope that you liked that recipe, because I never realised that I had missed such a simple but humble dish in my blogging over the years. 

I hope that you have had a great Easter, and I will try my best to keep up with posting and getting a routine going for this blog. Until then I hope that you all stay safe, healthy and most important of all happy. 

닭갈비 Dak Galbi

Hey guys, so it has been a while since I have lasted posted a recipe and I'm really sorry but things have been really hectic with uni about to start next week and me just freaking out about it in general. This may be the last post in a while, so regular posts may not occur until I have settles into uni, but I won't ever stop posting that's for sure.

Today I'm finally going to post up a recipe that is a very popular dish in Korea, and I can't believe that I have never posted about it before. As you can tell from the title the recipe is going to be of dak galbi (닭갈비)

It is said that dak galbi appeared after the late 1960s as an inexpensive anju (food that is eaten while drinking) in small taverns, on the outskirts of the cities to replace the comparatively expensive gui dishes which are grilled over charcoal. The dish has spread to the main districts of Chuncheon, where the livestock industry thrives and offers fresh ingredients with no need for refrigeration. There is a street known as dak galbi golmok (dak galbi alley) which has a high concentration of dak galbi restaurants

That's the history of the dish, I think that it is about time that I get on with the recipe:

Ingredients
6-8 chicken thigh
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon rice wine
salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon gochujang
4 tablespoons gochugaru (chilli flakes)
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons rice wine (sake) ground black pepper
2 cups broccoli, cut into bite sizes
1/2 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin cooked rice

Method
1. Place thawed chicken thigh in bowl. Pour the milk over the chicken and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain milk.
2. Add 1 tablespoon rice wine evenly on the chicken. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
3. Heat oil in large pan. Add onions, broccoli and red bell pepper and stir well over high heat, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken, brown chicken on both sides, but not cooked thoroughly at this point.
5. Make sauce by combining gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, rice wine, and black pepper.
6. Add the sauce to the pan with chicken.
7. Cut the chicken into bite sizes using kitchen scissors, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.
8. Add cooked rice to the pan when you’re almost done with the chicken and stir together, if desired.

And there you have it, irresistible dak galbi to share with family and friends or to eat by yourself. The perfect balance of spice, sweet and everything nice.

I hope that you like that recipe, it is quite nice and you can always adjust the level of spice that you like. It may be a while before I post a blog post up again, but I will try to make time in my week (if not once a week then once a fortnight) So until next time I hope that you stay safe, happy and healthy. And to other people in the same shoes as me I wish you the best of luck!! 

Korean Red Bean Doughnut 풀빵 Pul bbang

Hey guys, so today is the last day of my blog spectacular that involved desserts such as apple crumble and japgwapyon and Valentine's Day specials such as breakfast smoothies, a tandoori chicken salad entree, pesto chicken kiev main and a creme brulee panna cotta dessert. So please do check out those other posts from this week.

Today is the last day of my blog week, and I have enjoyed it like I always do. I really do need to blog more often, it is a nice was to de-stress and get creative but I have a slight issue with procrastination...ok it's a pretty big issue, but I'm working on it.

To top off the week I'm going to be introducing you to another Korean dessert, as I had promised yesterday. Pul bbang (풀빵) is a Korean pancake dumpling, usually stuffed with sweetened red bean paste (팥 앙금, patanggeum). You could call them Korean filled doughnuts.

The Japanese have their own version of pul-bbang, called takoyaki. It is stuffed with boiled, chopped octopus. Takoyaki batter also is savory and other than the shape I don't really see a resemblance between the two.

Pul-bbang is sold on the street in most major Korean cities. But they're more difficult to find than their more famous cousins, boong-uh-bbang (붕어빵),which are a red bean–stuffed bread shaped like a fish.

I think that is enough for the history of the bread, it is about time that I get started in the recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup sweetened red bean paste (the stuff from the can will do fine)

Method
1. Mix all the ingredients for the batter until smooth.
2. Set a round doughnut pan on medium heat. HINT: you can put your doughnut maker to use or you can use a small cupcake tin in the oven)
3. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of batter into each well of the pan. I used a two spoon technique to scrape and drop the red bean paste into the batter.
4. After you have filled all the wells with batter, immediately start placing the 1/2 teaspoon of the filling e in the middle.
5. Add another tablespoon or so of batter to the top to cover the filling.
6. Let the dumplings cook for a couple of minutes.
7. Turn each dumpling over after you notice bubbles in the batter and slight pulling away on the edges.
8. Cook for a few minutes more on the other side. From there, you can flip them alternating until they are golden brown on both sides.

And there you have it, a delectable Korean dessert that is sure to please all ages, from young kinds to the oldies.

I hope that you all found that as a fitting way to end the blogging week. I will be back soon with more recipes, Korean to clarify for those of you wanting more Korean recipes. 

I hope that you all enjoy your weekend and until next time remember to stay safe, healthy and most important of all happy. 

Apple Crumble

I'm back with another recipe today......I'm nearing the end of this blogging week. It's been fun but coming up with recipe has been a bit hard when I have been busy.

I really should do this more often though, it pushes me to create new content for the blog. Also in other news I am nearing 100 blog posts, I really should do something AMAZING for my 100th blog post.....I'll try and have it figured out my then. Hopefully.

So, today's blog post I think I'll do something that is sweet, after all I'm in a sweet mood these days. I feel like something that is a classic and heart warming.

Apple Crumble. That is what today's recipe is going to be. I know that I have been doing a lot of western recipes this week, but I promise that for tomorrow I am going to blog a Korean recipe.

The humble apple crumble, something that we all saw on our dinner tables a couple times a year.There isn't much to be said about this recipe other than that it will always be loved for it's soft apples and crunchy topping. I hope that you will like this recipe of it, and let's get started!!

Ingredients
4 green apples
1 lemon, juiced
4 tbsp caster sugar
90g plain flour
40g cold butter
65g caster sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
handful of desiccated coconut

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 190˚C. peel and chop the apples.
2. Place into a microwavable bowl and mix with the lemon juice and 4 tbsp sugar.
3. Microwave for 4 minutes on a high setting to soften the apples.
4. Pour into an oven proof baking dish.
5. Rub the butter and flour in a clean bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
6. Add the caster sugar, brown sugar and desiccated coconut, then stir together.
7. Sprinkle over the fruit.
8. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.
Serve hot with cream or ice cream.

And there you have it, a scrumptious apple crumble that is to die for any time of the year.

I hope that you enjoyed that recipe because I know what I'm going to be having for dessert tonight. Until tomorrow remember to stay happy, healthy and safe.

Valentine's Day Breakfast Smoothies

Sup people, so today is VALENTINES DAY!!!!! So you've already got all the dishes ready for your three course meal right? You haven't? Well check out my three previous blog posts for an entree, main and dessert.

To really tops things off I decided that I should also teach you how to make a drink that you can use during the night, so something that you can drink after dessert. Night cap? I don't think that's the right word....but something that you can drink after dinner.

This is going to be something light and fruity, perfect to make you feel healthy after that large Valentines day meal. In fact you can also serve this for breakfast in bed...you can still make it in time as long as you are behind Sydney in time zones, in other words practically the rest of the world.

I'm going to be showing you how to make 2 different fruit smoothies, one that has a refreshing zing, whilst the other is a nice summer one.

The first one will be a cucumber, kiwi and apple smoothie (summer) and the next one is a lime, apple and pineapple smoothie (refreshing)

So I guess it's time to get started:

Ingredients 
Cucumber, kiwi and apple smoothie 
½ small cucumber
1 apple
1 kiwi tiny knob of fresh ginger
few cashews
small glass of apple juice
pinch of salt
dollop of natural yoghurt
extra chopped kiwis (optional)
Lime, apple and pineapple smoothie
½ small lime
1 apple
3 rings of a pineapple (1/2 cup)
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream OR some yogurt
2tbs honey
pineapple rings cut in half (optional)

Method
Cucumber Kiwi and Apple Smoothie
1. Peel the kiwi and ginger, core the apple and roughly chop all three.
2. Chop up the cucumber. 
3. Whiz everything in a blender or juicer until smooth
4. Done, serve with some chopped kiwis on top.
Lime, apple and pineapple smoothie
1. Core and peel the apple and roughly chop it up.
2. Place all ingredients in a blender and squeeze in half the lime, whiz until it is smooth.
3. Serve in a glass with the pineapple on the edge of the glass.

I hope that you will all like these refreshing smoothies because they are really great for your body, packed with vitamins and antioxidants that will make your skin shine. 

Hopefully you will all have a great Valentine's Day, whether you are alone or in a couple, and that you are most important of all happy. I'll be continuing on with the rest of my blog week, and I look forward to posting up more interesting recipes for you all to follow.