2014年10月30日星期四

Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw

A versatile side dish to go with grilled meats or poultry. Crispy, crunchy and thoroughly delicious.
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Nutritional Information
(per serving)

Calories    33
Total Fat    2g
Saturated Fat    0
Cholesterol    0
Sodium    132mg
Total Carbohydrate    4g
Dietary Fiber    --
Sugars    --
Protein    1g
Calcium    0
 crunchy bok choy slaw
Serves: 8

Total Time: 20 min

Ingredients
    U.S.        Metric    Conversion chart
1/4 cup(s) rice vinegar
1    tablespoon(s) toasted sesame oil
2    teaspoon(s) sugar
2    teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
6    cup(s) very thinly sliced bok choy (about Hong Kong Wine Vault a 1-pound head, trimmed)
2    medium carrots,  shredded
2    scallions, thinly sliced
Directions

Whisk vinegar, oil, sugar, mustard and salt in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add bok choy, Corrugated Display Box carrots and scallions; toss to coat with the dressing.nish with lime.

2014年10月8日星期三

Raising Elephants



Here's a lesson I learned this week: When make fondant cakes in tropical weather, keep them small. I'd been making cupcakes with fondant figurines for a while now, so when a friend asked if I could make her a birthday cake with elephants on it, I thought, now why the hell not?

So off I set to work, fashioning the cutest little elephant (well, at least I thought so) sitting up with a fat round belly complete with a belly button and a raised trunk. I figured I didn't want to bother with leaving it in an air-conditioned room because a) I'm tight and b) I didn't want it to wilt the minute the cake was taken out of the dry air-conditioning and into our humid climes. If it was going to wilt, it may as well do so right in front of me where I could rectify it. And of course, it didn't disappoint. When I woke up the next morning, my little fella had put on some weight, lost some height, and was slipping backwards. His trunk had lost a little enthusiasm too -- it was no longer raised.

So it was back to the drawing board. After flipping through a couple of books, DDoS AttackI found inspiration in this one. A lying-down elephant, in a sort of clambering-up-the-cake kinda position. Why didn't I think of that? I also made a little baby one to accompany it.

I made this two days before it was to be collected, hoping against all hope that it would dry. It rained and rained and my elephants got less perky by the day. But I guess they held up well enough (the picture was taken shortly before it was sent on its way to the birthday girl).

Over lunch the next day, my friend D, who is spectacular at making fondant cakes — she's made entire Thomas the Tank Engine cakes, Spiderman cakes, and teddy bear creations (all while living IN LONDON) — later told me that in this weather elyze好唔好, it's best to just keep the fondant figurines small so they'll dry out faster and won't wilt. I wish I'd had that conversation with her earlier.

But then I remembered her telling me that she'd made a Spiderman cake for her twin sons recently and asked her how she managed that. As it turns out, she ended up making little fondant buildings and streets and then sticking a plastic Spidy figurine in the centre of it all. "If I'd made a fondant Spiderman," she said, "the black webs on his mask and costume would have streaked, and he would have company formation to be lying down playing dead."

She'd also left the air-conditioning on for four days straight so that the cake wouldn't melt and die. Next time someone asks for a large fondant covered cake, I'm going to suggest a Dali theme.