Chocolate, Rum & Vodka Ice Cream

When asked to choose an ice cream flavour, I dare say chocolate would have to be top of the list for almost everyone. We like to add alcohol to ours as it lends flavour and prevents the ice cream from turning to rock in the freezer. Good way to use up all the duty free liquor hiding in the cupboard.

Rum is a good addition to chocolate. When you open the container, the first thing that hits you is the nice aroma of rum. I prefer to use whole eggs instead of just egg yolk as I hate having to think up ways to use up the leftover egg white. We feel we can enjoy this ice cream without too much guilt as it uses low fat milk and less cream than normal. The texture haven't been compromised. We find it is just as rich and creamy.



Ingredients:
375ml (1½ cup) low fat milk (light blue top)
15g cocoa powder
100-120g sugar
2 large eggs
pinch salt
250ml (1 cup)cream

2 Tbsp rum
1 Tbsp vodka

25g Cadbury chocolate, roughly chopped

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Grow your own Galangal ~ Blue Ginger

Ever wanted to have a galangal plant in your own backyard, to harvest whenever you feel like cooking a rendang, teochew braised duck, assam babi, satay sauce or even to make your own red curry paste ? Fresh galangal adds flavor and depth to many dishes.

Well ......here's your chance. I have a few excess plants for sale to NZ readers.

The highly scented white flowers appear in April.

The plant will be supplied as a cut back, bare root rhizome (underground stem) with at least one growing shoot or bud.

If you are interested, please leave your email address in the comments column and I will come back to you. I can only post to New Zealand addresses. Limited stock only.

Beef Rendang 'Shiok' ~ Spicy Dry Coconut Beef

This particular rendang uses a bit more spices than the kerisik rendang but they are both equally good. We love our rendang and always have a container or two in our freezer for that quick and easy meal.



Ingredients
1 kg beef (stewing beef, shin, rump or any other cut)
300ml coconut cream + ½ cup water
3 stalk lemon grass
6 lime or tahitian leaf
4 slices blue ginger (galangal)
½ tsp salt

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Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Whenever I serve this cake and later tell the guest that they were eating a healthy yoghurt cake with no butter, their eyes will open wide in disbelief. And their hand will reach for another slice to analyse it better.

I have tried making cakes with yogurt and most often their texture is usually denser. This recipe however makes an incredibly light cake. It is almost like a sponge cake. Very lemony and quick and easy to make. I can usually bake one in time for morning tea. As the taste is not boring, you can do away with icing the cake.

Ingredients
2 large eggs
200g caster sugar

zest from 1 lemon, finely grated
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

280g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder

250ml low fat greek yoghurt
120ml oil

icing sugar for dusting

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Bouncy Chicken MeatBalls

After successfully making bouncy meatballs from beef and pork, it was time to try with chicken. The recipe is basically the same.

For those who don't eat red meat you will be pleased to know that the chicken meatballs have just as much bounce and 'spring' but with a much softer texture. Handy to have in the freezer to add to that instant noodle meal anytime.


Makes 48 balls (½ Tbsp size)

Ingredients
500 gm chicken breast, cut to smaller pieces

½ cup (125ml) icy cold water
1 Tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp salt
½ Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp cornflour
1¼ tsp baking powder

dash of white pepper (optional)

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Asian Style Braised Lamb Shank

I had three lamb shanks sitting in the freezer like forever ! All the recipes I looked up were leaning towards the European style cooking with red wine or port. The lamb shanks I had were not exactly bursting in the meat department. In fact it had very little meat and I was not too keen to open a bottle of red just to cook some bones.

Trawling the net, I came upon these Asian flavoured lamb shanks. This was more my cup of tea. The flavours were really good and the meat literally fell off the bone.

Ingredients
3 lamb shanks

4 Tbsp soy sauce
150ml water
5 slices ginger
2 star anise
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp white vinegar or 2 tsp rice vinegar

Method
1. Put all the ingredients except vinegar into the pressure cooker.

2. Pressure cook for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.

3. With the lid off, boil to reduce and thicken the sauce. Turn the shanks over often. Add vinegar. Season with salt if required.

4. Remove the shanks from the sauce and grill/broil for 5-10 minutes to brown the meat. This process is optional.

5. Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks and serve with rice or noodles.

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Mandarin Whisky Marmalade

Every year our small mandarin trees supply us with just enough fruit to eat but never in excess that we have to think of plan B. This year even though only one of the trees bore fruit, it was a good heavy crop. Time to try our hand at making marmalade.

Mr Redneck is the marmalade eater and he has declared this jam to be 'Good '. Man of few words ! A delicious spread on toast. Love the tang and bitter sweet taste of the marmalade. The mandarins from our tree are seedless and this conserve will set without pectin.

My pantry is bulging at the moment with preserves, relishes, chutneys, jams, jellies all made from homegrown produce squirrelled away to be eaten in the coming months.

Makes 5-6 cups

Ingredients
2kg mandarins
800g-1kg sugar
3 cups water
2 Tbsp whisky/brandy
1 lemon, juice and peel

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Assam Sambal Prawns ~ Spicy Tamarind Prawns

My mum used to serve a mean dish of assam prawns. I was younger then, and had no interest in cooking. I wish I had paid more attention. So many dishes are for now just a memory. It took me years of searching and testing various prawn sambal recipes. So pleased I have finally managed to nail the flavours of that memorable dish.

The aroma coming from this dish will draw everyone to the kitchen. For once there will be no need to ring the dinner bell.

Serves 2

Ingredients
300gm raw prawns
¼ onion, finely sliced
1 small tomato, cut to wedges
1 Tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp cooking oil

½ Tbsp tamarind paste
3/4 cup hot water

Spice Paste (grind together)
2 red chilli
½ onion
2 clove garlic
1 lemon grass (serai)
1 tsp belacan
4 candlenut (buah keras)

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Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

The best chilli sauce ever. We now use this chilli sauce for dipping everything and anything from boiled mussels, bouncy beef balls, pork balls, chinese roast pork, salt and pepper squid to fried beehoon.


I am so glad to be able to cross out yet another type of processed food from my shopping list. Plus the price of a bottle of chilli sauce has really gone up. Must keep my eye out for a special on fresh chillies now so I can buy heaps to freeze.

As it is so quick and easy to make, I prefer to cook only a small quantity so that it doesn't need to 'hang out' in the fridge for too long. Even though I used my super hot chillies from the freezer, the finished product was not that hot at all. I can now use up my homegrown red hot chillis which have been residing in my freezer for years.

Makes about 75 ml

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Apple Jelly

I have made jam heaps of times but not jelly. Jelly was always delegated to the too hard basket. Guess it is about time to tackle jelly since my 3 apple trees are bursting with fruits. Actually making jelly was very satisfying and easier than I thought once I figured out a place to hang the bag to catch the drips. One does need patience. Leave the bag in a corner out of the way and ignore it.

The apple jelly is delicious as jam on bread, scones and even pork dishes. Yoghurt ice cream is delicious with a dollop of apple jelly added to it. Or serve it as you would an ordinary jelly to kids.

Part 1 : Extracting Apple Juice

Extracts about 6-7 cups juice

Ingredients
2kg sweet eating apples
1.5 liter (6 cups) water
grated rind of 1 lemon

Bag for straining

Method
1. Wash and roughly chop apples to smaller pieces. No need to peel or core.

2. Add apples, water and grated lemon rind into the pressure cooker.

3. Pressure cook for 10 minutes until soft and mushy. (With a normal pot this will take 25-30 minutes on gentle simmer).

4. Pour the mushed fruits into the bag and hang to strain out the juice. Leave overnight. Do not squeeze or you will get cloudy jelly.

5. You will end up with 6-7 cups of the strained juice.

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Bacon and Egg Pie

Mr Redneck is a bacon and egg pie fan and he has given this pie the thumbs up. The combination of potatoes, peas and bacon makes the filling light and moist.

This is my first time making a big pie from scratch and I found this recipe to be surprisingly simple to put together. To make things easy for myself, as I wanted to have the pie ready by lunch time, I made the pastry the day before and left it to chill in the fridge. The long hours relaxing in the fridge may have help to really relax the gluten as I didn't have to fight with it at all when rolling out. I didn't even break out in cold sweat !

Makes 1 double crust 20-23cm pie

Ingredients
Quick Flaky pastry
4 rashes bacon, lightly cooked and chopped
1 cup cooked peas
1 cup chopped cooked potatoes or kumara
5 large eggs

Method
1. Follow the steps on making the flaky pastry here. Roll out on a floured board to make 2 thin rounds to fit a 23cm pie plate.

2. Ease one lot of pastry into a lightly greased pie plate.

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Quick Flaky Pastry

I don't make pastry very often. In fact I have a phobia when it comes to pastry. So when I saw the recipe I thought to myself, this looks do-able ... I should try it. Truth be told, if it was not for the tempting photo in the cookbook I would not have given the recipe a second glance.

The dough was a breeze to roll thin and did not break or shrink. Flaky pastry is a quick and easy alternative to puff pastry. The pie crust turned out light and flaky. We loved it.

A real confidence booster especially for a non pastry person like me. No sweat to make and is much cheaper than buying readymade pastry from the shop. Do note that this dough uses milk instead of water for binding.

Makes 1 thinly rolled double crust 20-23cm pie

Ingredients
185gm flour
1 tsp baking powder
125gm very cold butter, cubed or grated

85ml - 100ml milk
1 tsp vinegar (add to milk)

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Espresso Coffee Ice Cream

If we had to pick our favourite ice cream, it will have to be vanilla bean or Espresso Coffee. You can't help but fall in love with the coffee and kahlua combination.

Definitely an adult dessert, not recommended for children.

Makes about 1 Litre

Ingredients
375ml low fat milk (light blue top)
100g sugar
1-2 vanilla bean
2 eggs
250 ml cream
1 shot Espresso
pinch salt
3-4 Tbsp Kahlua coffee liqueur

25g Cadbury chocolate, chopped

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Pininoa Tomato Sauce

Most tomato sauce recipes have a list of ingredients a mile long. Needless to say I was a bit sceptical when I saw this recipe with only five very basic ingredients. But I am game to try anything as I have tomatoes coming out of my ears.

Since the first pot, I have gone on to make 3 more batches. I love the shiny red colouring of this sauce. You can also add garlic, chilli or whatever you feel like to these base ingredients.


Makes about 750ml

Ingredients
2 kg ripe red tomatoes
400gm - 550gm sugar
½ Tbsp Salt
2 tsp ground Allspice
1½ - 2 cups vinegar

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Thai 3 Flavoured Fish ~ Pla Lat

It has been a while since I cooked a fish dish. Fish not being Mr Redneck's idea of a good feed, I have to be particularly picky when trying out a new recipe . The dish has to be strong flavoured and with plenty of sauce to mask the fish smell.

I used Trevally for this recipe. Spicy, sweet and tartiness - that fits Mr Redneck's criteria of a good fish dish. The original recipe deep fries the fish but I prefer to do the healthier version of just frying with a little oil on the cast iron pan.

Ingredients
800gm whole fish, clean

Grind together
1-2 Tbsp chilli paste
3 clove garlic
½ onion

Sauce
25gm tamarind paste + ½ cup hot water
25gm palm sugar, shaved
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp oil

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Hamburger Buns

In the midst of an extremely hot dry summer, the last thing I want to do is cook up a storm in the kitchen. Summer is a time for light meals that doe not involve too much slaving over the stove. With the tomatoes ripening fast on the vine, what better then than to eat them with buns.

This massive burger which was our dinner had slices of sweet juicy tomatoes from the garden, shredded lettuce, pickled zucchini, thin slices of steak, bacon, fried egg and a squeeze of tomato sauce. Mr Redneck had his with a slice of smoked cheese as well.

The buns were soft and did not break up or disintegrate halfway through eating unlike those supermarket buns. Wholesome gourmet burger at a fraction of the cost !

Makes 6 buns (4" diameter)

Ingredients
245 ml warm water
360 gm high grade bread flour
35 gm (¼ cup) wholemeal flour
1½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp sugar
1½ tsp surebake yeast

½ tsp garlic flakes (optional)

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Siew Ngap ~ Chinese Roast Duck

This year Chinese New Year falls on 26 January. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends and family KONG HEI FATT CHOY ! All the best for the year of the Ox. Good eats and all things nice. May the recession be over and food prices drop back to normal.

Our favourite all time food has to be duck. Recently our Indian shop decided to stock huge ducks (2.8kg) and at a reasonable price too. Choice! Usually ducks at 2kg or less come out a bit disappointing especially when we spent so much time and effort cooking to end up with just a thin sliver of meat.

At first I was worried that this enormous duck would end up being fatty. But not at all. It had this thick layer of meat and very little fat in the skin (could be due to all that pricking). We were able to get 4 meals out of this one duck. Guess how many bird I ended up buying....yes 5 is sitting in my freezer. I would hate the shop to run out of stock so I ended up hoarding. ha ha


Because this bird was huge I decided to try a different take on the roasting so as not to end up with burnt skin and uncooked meat. This duck is cooked for a longer period starting with a low temperature. Even though I only managed to marinade it for a short time frame of 4 hours, the meat had plenty of flavour. As usual we end up fighting over the skin. lol

A mouthwatering duck that is moist and succulent yet is not as time consuming and tedious to cook and prepare.

Ingredients
2.8 kg whole duck

2 ½ Tbsp five spice powder
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar

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Honeycomb Biscuit~Kuih Loyang~Kuih Rose

A biscuit with many names. Some call it kuih loyang, kuih goyang, kuih rose, beehive or plain old honeycomb biscuit. This is a very popular cookie for Chinese New Year.

This recipe produces beehives that are light and crispy. Mr Redneck likes his with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Makes about 16 biscuits

Ingredients
1 small egg (45g with shell, 40g without)
35g sugar
100ml coconut milk
60g plain flour
25g rice flour
1 tsp water

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12345 Pork Spare Ribs

Thanks to Jackie who emailed me this recipe and suggested I try her family favourite. As the name implies, it is a very easy dish using five very basic ingredients. Love the intense flavour of the sauce. It is a very appetising dish.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Everyone a Very Happy New Year.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
4 Tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar
500 gm pork spare ribs or meat (cut to bite sizes)

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Fresh Strawberry Rosemary Muffins

Fresh strawberry and rosemary in a muffin....I have never tasted that combination before. I was a bit hesitant but thought I would brave it.

When I took it out of the oven it had a banana fragrance. Even Mr Redneck asked me whether I made banana muffins. Maybe it was the rosemary combined with the strawberry which made it smell like it had banana in it. But whatever the fragrance, the muffin was moist the crumb soft and tender.

Definitely worth making especially since strawberries are in season. The strawberries and rosemary are fresh from my own garden.

Makes 18 muffins

Ingredients
185ml yoghurt
2 eggs
185ml oil or melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

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Soft Wholemeal Bread

After my Breville died from overwork, I decided to buy a more heavy duty bread machine. We no longer buy bread in any shape or form so the breadmaker has to withstand the heavy usage. The one I am now using is a Sunbeam Quantum Smartbake with a big pan which can make a 1.5kg loaf and best of all it is programmable.

I have different programs for the 4 seasons. In the heat of summer, bread usually take a shorter time to rise but in winter, the house being so cold it does affect the rising time even though the breadmaker has its own heating element.

We love this bread. Even though it is wholemeal, it is not dense. In fact it is soft, light, fluffy and very pliable.

This is our daily loaf. Toast in the morning and sandwiches for lunch. Mr Redneck likes his thinly sliced wherelse I like mine like doorstops.


If you try this recipe and it turns out dense, then it has not risen enough. Since I like my bread light and fluffy, I make sure it is given enough time to rise even if it takes 4 hours for me to make a loaf. When buying a breadmaker make sure you have a separate bake function to enable you to have some control and not allow the breadmaker to dictate the timing.

Makes 1.5 kg loaf size

Ingredients
410 ml warm water (400ml if using fresh yeast)

350gm wholemeal flour
275gm high grade (bread) flour
4½ tsp gluten flour
1 Tbsp ground linseed

1 Tbsp oats
1½ Tbsp lecithin granules
2½ Tbsp milk powder
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar

2½ tsp surebake yeast or 16gm fresh yeast

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Spicy Yoghurt Roast Chicken

The colour of this chicken when roasted was just amazing. I got the idea for this combination of herbs and spices from the November issue of Taste magazine. We thoroughly enjoyed the flavours.

I prefer to use the rotisserie to roast the chicken since it is by far the easiest with the least amount of handling.

Ingredients
1.1 kg chicken

Marinade
100ml low fat greek yoghurt
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp chilli powder

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Blueberry Low Fat Yoghurt Ice Cream

In a magazine poll, the ice cream maker was rated as one of the most useless item in the kitchen. We beg to differ. We love our ice cream maker and is one of our most used gadgets. It doesn't get much of a chance to sit in a corner gathering dust.

Since this frozen dessert is something we eat everyday, I prefer to make the healthy low fat variety, something we can enjoy without too much guilt. The health benefits of eating yoghurt is innumerable. Combined with blueberry it is even better as blueberry is a superfood packed with antioxidants. I prefer using greek yoghurt as it makes a creamier ice cream.

A very easy ice cream to make as all the ingredients are just tipped straight into a blender. No slaving over the stove to make the custard.

Makes 1 litre

Ingredients
50gm frozen blueberry
80gm sugar
600ml low fat greek yoghurt
75ml cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp vodka
2 Tbsp sultanas (optional)

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Homemade Low Fat Greek Yoghurt

Since I had no trouble making yoghurt out of Easiyo sachets, I had assumed I would have no trouble making it from scratch. How wrong I was !! It took me 3 months of trial and error before I succeeded. At first I blamed the cold weather. It was afterall the start of winter when I began trialling this. Just as I was about to give up, I got my first container of the most perfect thick and custard-like yoghurt. Ever since then I had not made a dud batch.

I use the Easiyo yoghurt maker which makes the incubation process much easier. All it takes is only 5 minutes preparation time. I find this greek yoghurt has hardly any whey. It makes the most delicious yoghurt ice cream.



Ingredients
600ml low fat milk (light blue top)
2 Tbsp low fat milk powder
1 Tbsp whole milk powder
2 Tbsp low fat greek yoghurt starter (frozen)

Method
1. Pour the milk into the yoghurt container. Heat milk in the microwave for 3 minutes (650W) until you see little bubbles on the side. Stick a clean finger in to test, it should be hot but not hot enough to burn your finger.

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Make your own Pure Vanilla Extract

It really is very simple to make your own pure vanilla extract and more cost effective. Vanilla extracts will keep indefinitely as long as they are stored in a cool dark place such as a pantry or cupboard. Extracts can be made from either Tahitian or Planifolia vanilla beans. Their aroma is quite distinct from each other.

Use these pure vanilla extracts in whatever recipes that calls for vanilla and you won't regret it. This will make the end result taste so much better.

It is quite neat watching little jars of newly made extract turn a darker shade of brown almost daily and the aroma is just divine.



Ingredients
3 vanilla beans
250ml vodka
bottle

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Chu Yoke Yuen ~ Bouncy Pork Balls

Beef balls is something I always have in my freezer to add to my noodle lunch. The opportunity to make 'balls' out of a different meat presented itself when a slab of frozen pork leg I bought did not turn out to be as tender. The only thing the meat would be good for would be a minced up dish. Reminder to oneself.....never buy frozen pork again no matter how tempting the special is !

The pork balls turned out to be as springy and bouncy as the ngau yoke yuen. The process is the same though I have omitted lye water in this. Any lean cut of pork can be used. And best of all, it is preservative free.

Makes 48 balls (½ Tbsp size)

Ingredients
500 gm pork, cut to small pieces

½ cup (125ml) icy cold water
1 Tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp salt
½ Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp cornflour
1¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp white pepper

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Kiwi Fruit Chutney

Way back in May, there was a special on kiwifruit for just 29cents a kilo. What a bargain ! It was a case of buy first, think later. With so many kiwifruits, it was as good a time as any to try out this chutney.

Leaving it 'brewing' in the dark cupboard for 5 months has paid dividends. This chutney definitely tasted much better left to aged for the longer period. It was lovely with cheese and crackers.

Makes 2 Litre

Ingredients
1kg kiwifruit
2 bananas
3 onions (460gm), chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup (130g) brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp crystallised ginger (chop)
1 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper
1 cup white vinegar
1 hot chilli (whole or chopped with seeds removed)

Method
1. Peel and slice kiwi fruit, onions and bananas.

2. Place all ingredients in a pressure cooker. Bring to pressure, reduce heat and cook for 30-40 minutes until soft and thick. If you find the mixture have not thicken, leave the lid off and boil for a few more minutes.

3. Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Leave in a cool dark place for at least 1 month before using to let it mature.

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Rotisserie Roast Chicken with Rosemary, Orange and Garlic

Lately our little rotisserie oven have been working overtime with us enjoying roast chicken several times a week. Yup, chicken was on special. The advantage of having a rotisserie oven means the meat can be plonked in, and in less than an hour the meal is ready without having to lift a finger to turn the chicken or baste it.


We like to use rosemary to flavour our meat as we have rosemary galore in our garden. I added the orange zest as I had an orange that needed eating so why waste the skin. Such a lovely meal served with gravy, a side of vegetables or salad and crispy potatoes.

Ingredients
1.1 kg chicken
1 tsp salt
5 sprig chopped rosemary
zest from 1 orange

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3 minute Homemade Creamy Peanut Butter

Normally I am quite happy to buy my peanut butter from the supermarket and it never crossed my mind to make my own. But way back in July our supermarket decided to replace our favourite brand with one made in Australia and they pushed the price up as well.

That was it. I refuse to be dictated to, and be told what I can or cannot buy, or where from. I decided to make my own !


It was actually ridiculously easy provided you have a gadget similar to the famous Magic Bullet and you can have fresh peanut butter jelly sandwich in less than 3 minutes. The proof is in the video.

The texture was in fact much creamier and not as dry as the bought ones. And you can actually smell and taste the peanut. Once you have tried some homemade peanut butter, you won't want to go back to that tasteless storebought 'paste'. Plus you know exactly what ingredients has been used.

Yield : > ½ cup

Ingredients
150gm (1 cup) roasted peanuts
½ tsp peanut oil or onion oil
¼ tsp salt

Method
1. Place all the peanuts into cup of the bullet. Use the flat blade and process until the nuts are roughly broken up.

2. Add oil and salt. Change to the cross blade. Continue to pulse (shaking and scraping the sides of the container every now and then). As you process you will notice the mixture will become more liquid and oily. Process until you are happy with the texture.

Flat Blade...............Cross Blade

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Spicy Date and Ginger Bars

Mr Redneck saw this Spicy Date and Ginger Bars in one of the many monthly magazines we borrow from the library and was literally drooling.

I had a look at the recipe, it was do-able and not overly laden with artery clogging stuff. I made it for Father's Day since there would be many 'guinea pigs' as well as to spread the calories around. The ginger bars were well received.

It is quite rich and sweet so cut it in small dainty slices and serve with coffee or tea. The base is actually a light textured cake. The Ginger Slices freeze well.

Makes : 1 tray 25cm x 30cm

Ingredients
200g chopped dates
250ml milk
1 tsp baking soda

315g plain flour
¾ Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice

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Thousand Layers Spiral Mooncake

My last trial of this mooncake was back in 2006. Yes, it took me a good 2 years to get over the 'trauma' and give this another go. Not a mooncake for the fainthearted to attempt. What is tedious is sealing the dough without destroying the spiral pattern. But the end result is very rewarding. The pastry is very very crispy, crunchy and light.

Apparently the secret to getting the mooncake to bloom like a snail shell....'dunking it in very hot oil 3 times'.

The traditional filling for this is yam but there is nothing to stop you from putting your own spin into this by using a lotus or bean paste or whatever takes your fancy. Hence I am not putting a recipe here for the filling. Mr Redneck likes his with a savoury mung bean filling.

Makes 6 mooncakes

Ingredients
Water dough
75g plain flour
20g shortening
10g (fine) sugar
35g water + 2-3 drops white vinegar

Oil Dough
65g plain flour
40g shortening

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