Brasied Pork Ribs (红烧排骨) & Strawberry Banana Wheat Gem Cake

I have been slacking on blogging lately. :P Just don't seem to be that motivated to blog....and frankly speaking I don't really know why. Perhaps it's a phase that I or probably many of you fellow bloggers out there experience every once in awhile. :P Well, maybe I should go blog hopping to get me all motivated again....:P But thanks so much to you all whom has constantly come back and give me the encouragement, appreciate it!

Today I have 2 recipes to share. First up is a savory dish call Braised Pork Ribs (红烧排骨) which my family enjoys very much. :)

This dish may sound complicated to prepare, but it is actually not. :) I believe anyone can come up with this wonderful dish. :) I got this recipe from 大排档浆 ( Hawkers' Fair...Sauces; Book 7).

Ingredients for Braised Pork Ribs (红烧排骨)

Hong Xiu Sauce (红烧浆 ):

6 shallot, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp chopped garlic

2 tbsp minced ginger

100ml oil

Seasoning:

5 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp salt

3 tsp sugar

dash of pepper

300 ml water

Method:

Heat up the oil, saute shallot, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add seasoning and bring to cook until the whole consistency thickens. Remove from heat and set aside for later use.

Braised Pork Ribs: (served 4)

600g spare ribs, (cut into pieces & rinsed once with boiling water)

1 star anise

5cm cinnamon stick

5 to 8 tbsp Hong Xiu sauce (红烧浆)

1000ml water

Heat up 1 tbsp oil, saute star anise and cinnamon stick until fragrant. Add in spare ribs, Hong Xiu sauce and stir fry until aromatic. Add in water and bring to oil. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour or until spare ribs are tender.

The ribs were really tender and flavorful after that 1 hour of slow braising. It is such a nice dish to serve up with steamy hot rice. :) My kid will always ask for extra rice when served with this yummy braised ribs. So who says you can't eat restaurant dishes at the comfort of your home? Try it will ya? :)

The other recipe is a healthy and delicious cake which you can serve up for your family anytime; Strawberry Banana Wheat Gem Cake. I saw a similar recipe quite sometime back and wanted to try it out but with different ingredients. The original recipe calls for flax seeds but I changed it to wheat gem since I figured it should be just as healthful and wholesome. :)

Ingredients for Strawberry Banana Wheat Gem Cake (makes a standard loaf pan)
210g unbleached plain flour
3 tbsp toasted wheat gem
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
Zest and juice of 1 navel orange
3/4 cup fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
3/4 cup ripen banana, peeled
1/2 cup vegetable oil


Method:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together and set aside for use later. Grease and lined with parchment a standard 9X5" loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In another bowl, mash up strawberries and banana together using a masher. It's ok if the strawberries are chunky as it will give extra texture to the cake.
• Add orange zest and juice and mix well. Then add in caster sugar, eggs and oil and mix till well combined.
• Make a well in the flour mixture and add in the wet ingredients. Stir to combine but DO NOT over mix.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or till the tester comes out clean.

The cake is surprisingly moist and refreshing with all the fruits and zest in it. Plus the use of vegetable oil instead of butter makes the cake lighter, not dense at all. If you worry the wheat gem might give a grainy texture, well not at all, your kids won't even know you've added something so wholesome in their cake. :D I'm very please with the outcome and taste of this cake, truly a successful attempt which I will bake again for my family next time. Plus I definitely won't feel guilty eating up a couple slices at one go. :)

BTW, feel free to substitute some of the ingredients in the recipe, wheat gem to wheat bran, orange to lemon and strawberries to other berries. :) Have fun trying and baking it!


Okay folks, time to leave you all for now and hopefully be back soon with something more interesting. ;) Have a good day all!