Thursday, May 13, 2010

Baked Strawberry Cheesecake and Good Old Char Kwey Tiao

I have meant to put up this post over the weekend, but I guess I can never be able to blog as fast as I bake / cook, lol! I have 2 more posts overdue but have yet found time to write it out. Furthermore, there seems to be an endless list of things to do which I keep telling myself I will get to it soon. Simple things like replying a good friend's email can sometimes take me a week! So if you are one of them and reading this...please forgive me, lol! I remember I was never like this years back, I was much more organized and in control of things around me. Now? Geese...I wish I can get through a day without worrying simple things like whether I've placed clean socks in my girls' shoes, or even the lunch menu for tomorrow. Sometimes I feel that I haven't got much done and the day was already over. Helpless....But I believe there are many people out there have similar experiences.

But one thing is for sure...I will usually sacrifice my free time for baking / cooking. It's my comfort zone, my time out from all that hustle and bustle of my busy life. I am sure it is true for many of you out there too. ;)

For now, let's focus and talk about my bake: Baked Strawberry Cheesecake....verdict? Double thumbs up!

I made this for my dear mum when we met up for a dinner last Sunday. Yes, it's for Mother's day....my first Mother's Day cake for my mum. Like she always is, she was all praise even before she tasted it.
And since this was the first time I made this cake and I did not get a chance to taste it before giving it to my mum...I was rather nervous at that time. But I was lucky, it came out great and my whole family loved it. :)
I have actually came up with this recipe on my own, and I kind of forgotten certain proportion for some ingredients, so I think I shall not post it up for now. There were not many good strawberry cheesecake recipes out there...more blueberry ones I must say. So if you have a decent blueberry cheesecake recipe, feel free to substitute the blueberries to strawberries, it should work fine.

See that humongous strawberry? It's almost as big as my 4yr old's fist! My mum gave me half a dozen of those...perhaps she read my mind that I was gonna make something strawberry for her, lol! Overall, I must say this is indeed one of the best (only 2nd to this) cheesecake I've made. Hopefully I will have time to look through the recipe and get it out soon. ;)

The other item is my favorite hawker eat: Char Kway Teow (minus the fresh clams). As far as I can remember, char kway teow is probably the one food that I missed the most when I was residing overseas. I had replicate it several times in my kitchen while overseas...but now even in Asia! Don't ask me why...I don't feel it's troublesome at all, lol!



This is my version of char kway teow....meaning I have substituted some of the ingredients. I did not have fried pork oil, bean sprouts and clams, so I simple didn't use them. The result was still fabulous! My family and I enjoyed it very much. :) Wonder how I did it? Here it is:

Ingredients for HBS's Char Kway Teow:
500g wide flat rice noodle, blanched in hot water and rinsed
3 eggs, cracked and lightly beaten
some Cai-Xin ( 菜心)
2 tbsp chopped garlic
100g sliced lean pork
6 medium size prawns, peeled leaving tail and devined
some fish cake
1/2 Chinese sausage, removed casing and slice thinly

Seasoning A:
1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
Seasoning B:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp sweet dark soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
some sesame oil
pinch of pepper & salt
some sugar to taste

Method:

  • Seasoned the sliced lean pork with 1/4 tsp of soy sauce, pinch of pepper, 1/2 tsp sesame oil & 1/4 tsp corn flour. Let it marinate.
  • Fry 1 tbsp of chopped garlic in oil till fragrant. Add rice noodle and stir well. Add seasoning A. Stir well till the noodles are coated with the soy sauces. Dish up and set aside for later use.
  • Again heat up the work and fried 2/3 of the beaten eggs. When done dish up and set aside.
  • Add 1 tsp oil and add in lean pork and stir fry till cooked. Add in Chinese sausage, fish cake and cai-xin. Stir fry till cai-xin is cooked down. Add in rice noodles and follow by Seasoning B. Stir fry till everything is well coated.
  • Add in the remaining 1/3 of the reserved egg and let it set a little before stirring in the noodles.
  • Lastly add in the previously fried eggs and stir well. Dish up and serve immediately.
My younger daughter loved it and asked for 2nds! I was super glad my version was still well recieved even though my family have tasted the "real thing" at the nearby hawker before. ;)It may look like a lot of hustle, but the only "troublesome" part to me was preparing the ingredients (which I didn't have a lot). The actual cooking only took me like 5 to 7 minutes tops! So do consider cooking your own char kway teow...you'll love it! Have fun!

27 comments:

Bakericious said...

Hi HBS, the strawberry cheesecake looks so creamy and rich. Pls share the recipe once you are able to recall, thanks in advance. I ve just baked your chocolate cheesecake and it is so heavenly. I love hawker style char kwey tiao too but need to watch over my waistline so only consume occasionally. :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Bakericious,
I will try to find time to look through my "draft" recipe and get it out when I get some time. Glad that you like the Valrhona cheese cake. ;)

Passionate About Baking said...

Oh wow! The char kway teow looks really good and healthy! I'm also not the "hum" person, and your version suits me just fine!! No wonder you can replicate this so often! Yummy!
The strawberry cheesecake looks really good and rich too! How did you do the heart in the centre so nicely? No stencil used? :p I've not baked cheesecake for a long time now.

tracieMoo said...

owh yum! The cheesecake looks delicious!

Not forgetting your Char Kuey Teow looks sooooo good. It's been some time since I had them. They're so oily out side makes me scared to eat..

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Jane,
Thanks! Oh yes, I used a heart-shaped pancake mould to put the jam in, then I remove the mould when done.

Hi Tracie,
You know the hawker's char kway teow is indeed very oily...but I still like! So bad larr! That is why home cook is best. ;)

Kitchen Corner said...

Hi Bee,
I understand your feeling, sometimes there are too many things to go on and we really have no time to reply some emails and blog too! But, you are still able to do it. Nicely baked cheesecake! And, also delicious char kwey tiao. I must learn how to char kwey tiao at home because it's one of my favorite food too :P

Big Boys Oven said...

hahah u can have the kwey tiao, but I would love to take that cheesecake of yours home! can right! :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Grace. :) Yes, quite annoying somethings when you know so much things still not done yet. :P But we just have to hang in there and take one step at a time. ;)

Sure BBO, come and get the cheesecake if you can, lol!

ann low said...

WOW!..yum..yum... the cheesecake looks perfect with the the strawberry in it.Good job!

WendyinKK said...

Some Penang feel to it when I see sausages in it.

I have 2 overdue posts? I have 60.
Hahahaha!!!! What you are seeing now are what I made months ago.
Now I'm slowing down in baking and cooking new stuff, just to clear up my posts. But I need these back ups for few months to come when I'll be busy with moving into my new house. The blog still needs to run even when I'm not in the kitchen.

Quinn said...

I like the Char Kuay Tiao! Looks like it's lacking a bit of 'wok hei' though, I've tried making it several times but it's just lacking the smoky flavour. Any tips for that? I use a non-stick pan because I do not have a stainless steel heavy wok.

DG said...

So many ingredients in your Char Kwey Tiao, it looks very tempting.

Talita said...

Wow! I'm totally in love with this cheesecake! Looks really yummy!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Good for you Wendy...looking forward to see more "overdue" posts from you even when you are not cooking.

You know Quinn, I think using a proper wok is very important to get a good plate of Char Kway Teow. I'm not really a wok person, but I am using my MIL's to cook this...so better then not I guess. Hmm...to get the smoky flavor, you need to get a proper wok and big flames! Good luck!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks DG, you should try frying some Char Kway Teow @ home....good luck!

Thanks so much Talita! Welcome to my blog and glad that you like the Strawberry Cheesecake. :)

Bakertan said...

Hi honey bee sweet,

your char kway teow is making me drool this moment. If only I have decent skills to handle this dish.

nice cheesecake you have there too! makes me crave for some right away.

cheers

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much for the nice compliment Bakertan! Welcome to my blog and hope to see you around here again.

youfei said...

Hey!

It's been a while since i last baked a cheesecake. I should really give it a try!

i heart dense cheesecakes!

The char kway teow looks super good! I'm terrible at cooking Zzzz

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks youfei! I heart dense cheesecake too! But must control a bit, heehee. :D Oh don't say you are a terrible cook! You are still young, plenty of time to learn and brush up! ;)

J.C. said...

Looks deliciouos. I saw the lap cheong...but how come no taugeh? I can't have kway teoh without taugeh. I am tempted to cook kway teow for dinner tonite.

ReeseKitchen said...

yummy yummy! It looks like we are all baking CHEESE cakes this week..haha! Strawberry cheese...this if waht I wanted to bake long time ago, but the chocolate and blueberry just came right into my mind when I want to bake..;p
Must try out your recipe soon...very soon!!

janice said...

Wow... yummy yummy :D The cheesecake looks perfect & delicious.You did a great job!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I understand your feeling, but we still try out best to update the post since we are blogger, hahaha..
Your mom must be very happy to eat her daughter home baked cake. well done.That CKT look so tempting, I doing to cook this soon.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Welcome to my blog JC! Ohh...I wanted to use taugeh, but didn't have any. :P Yes, lap cheong is my absolute favorite too. Hope you enjoy your Char Kway teow dinner!

Thanks Reese. I love your cheesecakes too! OKay okay...will let you know the recipe when I get the chance. ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Janice for your sweet compliments!

Hi Sonia,
Agree! It's almost like a duty that we must fulfill. Thanks for your compliment! I am looking forward to see your CKT post. ;)

Pei-Lin said...

Wow! You've gotta be overdosing me with the calories this morning though I just munched down a loaf of bread with slathers of cream cheese!! Yikes! The cheesecake ... is to die for ... for dessert in the morning! Hahaha! I have a HUGE sweet tooth! Woot!

Oh, ya know what ... I tried recreating char kway teow when I was in Minnesota. BUT, everything was in vain. *Sigh* Mine lacked that "wok hei." Also lacked so many ingredients. What to do! Here, you can see mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocbcb/3411028336/in/set-72157612526791181/

But you do know the Malaysian (Penang) version tastes somewhat different from the Singaporean version, yes?

Nice work, Bee Bee! Keep it up! Sorry if you find my absence lately ... I've been busy ... No more laid-back America life ... *Sob*

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Pei-lin,
Hey, I super heart cream cheese! It's like my 2nd favorite ingredients (1st if chocolate), lol! I can totally understand what you went through on replicating the CKT oversea...I remember once I did it, it taste totally different, hahaha! As I told Quinn, you need a good wok and high heat, else cannot get the "wok hei".

Oh yes, I know! I like the Penang version the best! Singapore version is slightly sweeter, like the fried carrot cake.

NO worries my friend, hang in there! Hope to see you more and great posts from you soon. Take care!